The Visitors (aka JAGScape)

By:  Ian K.

Rating:  PG-13 or R, haven't decided yet.

Spoilers:  Yes-For the series up to the present.

Note: This story is a crossover between Farscape and JAG.

Disclaimer:  I did not create Farscape, the universe of Farscape, or
its characters.  I also did not create the characters of JAG.  I
merely borrowed them for this story, for which I will receive no
monetary compensation.  No infringement of copyright intended.  

Time Frame:  Future.

*****************************
"Okay, Pilot," said Crichton, as he got up off the floor after
Starburst.  The rest of Moya's crew also got up off of the deck, and
found their bearings.  "How we doing?"

"Moya's systems are functioning normally," said Pilot.  "There is no
sign of pursuit from the Peacekeepers.  It appears that our Starburst
has allowed us to successfully loose them."

"Where are we at, Pilot?" asked Aeryn.  "What do Moya's scanners show
is in the area?"

"Moya is detecting a solar system approximately one arn's travel from
here," replied Pilot.  

"What's in the system, Pilot?" asked D'Argo.  "Can we conceal
ourselves there, or are there any commerce planets there where we can
resupply?"

"I am not sure," replied Pilot.  "We are too far out to determine if
there are any inhabited planets.  We are detecting at least nine
planets surrounding a single star.  Four of the planets are gas
giants.  Its possible there might be...."

"Whoa, Pilot, hang on," said Crichton.  "Did you say four of the nine
were gas giants.  Which ones?"

"The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eigth planets from the system's sun,"
replied Pilot.

"Holy...um, Pilot, which planet is the biggest?" asked Crichton.

"John, what is it?" asked Aeryn.

"Wait one microt," said Pilot. "Checking readings.  Confirmed. The
fifth planet is the largest."

"Pilot," said John with a stunned expression.  "Take us to that
system.  Maximum speed!"

"Crichton, what are you doing?" asked Rygel.  "Are you fahrbot?  What
is so special about that system?"

"That system that Pilot is describing," said John.  "It...it might be
my home solar system.  If I'm right, then the third planet from that
sun is Earth."

**
An arn later, Moya entered the system.  As soon as Crichton caught
sight of Saturn and its rings, he knew he was home.  The rest of the
crew congratulated John upon finding Earth, except for Aeryn.  She
left command quietly, while John stood staring at Earth as it loomed
closer as Moya approached it.

"Pilot," said John.  "We don't want to let the natives know we're here
just yet, not till we've worked out a game plan."

"Can your people detect Moya?" asked Jool.  "I thought they were
supposed to be primitive."

"Look, maybe we don't travel to other systems," said John, "but we do
have satellites and telescopes that monitor Earth's orbit.  Anything
as big as Moya comes into orbit, someone is bound to see it.  Hell,
IASA may even have a shuttle up, and their crew will sure as hell see
us.  Then, there is the International Space Station..."

"Alright," said Jool.  "I get it.  They can see us if we approach.  So
what do we do?"

"Take us to the dark side of Earth's moon, Pilot," said John.  

"Setting course now, Commander," said Pilot.

"Good, Aeryn..."said John, turning and hoping to see her.  Instead, he
found that Aeryn had left the command deck, and John had not even
noticed her leave.

"Frell," said John.  "Pilot, do you know where Aeryn is?"

"I believe she is in your quarters, Crichton," said Pilot.

"I'll be back," said John, excusing himself from the others and
leaving command.  

Crichton arrived at the quarters that he and Aeryn shared, and found
her sitting on the bed in silence.  John walked over to her, sat next
to her, and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Why'd you go, baby?" asked John.  "I turned to ask you something, and
you were gone."

"You finally noticed I was gone," said Aeryn.  "I left 500 microts
ago.  But, I guess you were...occupied."

After saying that last part with a slite tinge of spite, she got up
and went towards the door.  John got up and gently grabbed Aeryn by
the arm.  She turned around and faced him with an expression mixed
with worry and hurt.

"Aeryn, I'm sorry I didn't notice," said John.  "I was caught up in
the moment.  I found Earth, Aeryn.  After four cycles, I finally got
back.  And this time, its real.  I...I can see my real Father, my
sisters, DK...Aren't you happy for me?"

"I suppose," said Aeryn.   "But....John, this may sound selfish,
but....I'm afraid, that now you've found Earth, you....you won't want
me, or need me..."

Before Aeryn could finish, John captured Aeryn's lips in a passionate
kiss.  John took Aeryn into his arms, as they continued to exchange
kisses for several moments.  Breaking their mutual liplock, the couple
had their arms around each other.  

"Aeryn, don't you ever worry about loosing me," said John.  "As long
as I live, I want to be with you.  I'm not talking about going to
Earth permanently, just...for a visit, to see my family and tell them
I'm okay.  But, my home...is here.  With you.  Never doubt that."

Aeryn smiled.  "I love you," she said.  

"I love you, too," John replied.

******************
A black government car pulled up outsideof the Pentagon at around two
oclock in the morning.  The two men in the front of the car got out,
and one of them opened the back door.

"We're here, sir," said one of the suited men.

Jack Crichton, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and former astronaut,
stepped out of the back seat of the car.  He was dressed in a polo
shirt and khakis, the clothes he could throw on quickly after the two
men showed up at his front door at eleven oclock at night.  The men
were from the Department of Defense (DOD), and were there to escort
Jack Crichton to the Pentagon.

So, after a quick plane ride from Florida to Washington on a
government jet, and a car ride from Andrews Air Force Base, Jack and
his escorts now stood in front of a Pentagon side entrance.

"This way, Colonel," said one of the men, as they led Jack Crichton
into the building.

Jack and his escorts walked down a corridor until they got to a
security desk.  Two armed guards behind the desk put their hands on
their holstered pistols as the Air Force clerk behind the desk checked
the DOD officers' identifications.  After they were cleared, one of
the men told the clerk that Colonel Crichton was here.  She called
someone to inform them, and said simply that someone was coming up to
meet them.  

After several minutes, the door near the desk opened, and out of the
door stepped a man who Jack Crichton recognised immediately.  "DK!"
said Jack with a shock.  He walked over and embraced the young man
affectionately.  After a moment, they broke the embrace.

"Hello, sir," said DK.  "Sorry about all this, but when you find out
what's behind it, you'll understand."

"DK, the last place I ever expected to see you was at the Pentagon,"
said Jack.  "What the hell is going on here?"

"Come with me," said DK.  "You are not gonna believe what has
happened."

Leaving the two DOD men at the door, DK led Jack into another corridor
which led to an elevator.  After passing another security checkpoint,
they stepped into the elevator.  DK inserted a key into the control
pannel, and pushed a button for a sublevel.  The elevator descended
down two floors until stopping at Pentagon sub-level two.

The two men stepped out, and were stopped at yet another checkpoint.
DK presented I.D., and told the clerk he was escorting Jack Crichton
to the briefing room.  The clerk asked Jack to place his hands on a
nearby pannel.  Jack complied, and a scanner verified through
fingerprint indentification that the man was indeed Colonel Jack
Crichton.  Jack was given an I.D. badge, and Dk brought him through
another door, which led to another corridor.

At the end of the corridor, the two men stepped through a steel door. 
The room on the other side they walked into was large, with computer
terminals and various military personnel working at them.  There were
perhaps 50 people in the room, all working at different stations.

The two men turned to their immediate right after they entered the
room and headed for another door.  When they stepped inside of it, the
two of them entered a room with a large conference table and several
more computer terminals.  The room was filled with men in suits and
uniforms, around twenty of them by Jack's count.  Jack's eyes focused
on the man at the head of the table, immediately recognizable to Jack.

"Welcome, Colonel Crichton," said the man, who got up from the table
and walked over to Jack.  Taking the former astronaut's hand in a firm
handshake, Jack finally was able to speak after overcoming his shock.

"Mr. President," said Jack.  "Sir, I...its an honor, but, why..."

"It will all be explained to you, Colonel," said the President.  "Now,
if you will have a seat, we can get started."

Jack and DK sat next to each other at the table, as the President
returned to head seat at the table.  As the President sat, he spoke to
DK.  "Dr. Kyle," he said, "since you know the Colonel, and the
situation, perhaps you could begin."

"Yes, sir," said DK.  "Colonel...Jack, I'm gonna be strait with you.
We've heard from John."

DK's last sentence hit Jack like a blow to the head.  The latter was
in so much shock that he was not sure he had heard it properly.  His
mind was filled with confusion, and his jumbled thoughts had a hard
time coming together to allow Jack to form something coherent to say. 


After a few moments of silence from Jack, DK spoke to him.  "Colonel,
are you okay? Jack, you did here me...what I said?  John's alive."

"How can...what...this...DK, what the hell are you talking about?"
asked Jack.  "John's dead!  He can't be alive.  His ship was lost..."

"I know, Jack," said DK.  "Hell, four years, I...I've written him off
as well.  We've all been in grief, have mourned, and have tried to get
on with our lives without him.  But, I'm telling you the truth, sir.
John's alive."

"How is that possible?" asked Jack.  "What's going on?"

"I'll start from the beginning," said DK.  "Approximately 12 hours
ago, the International Space Station started picking up some signals
on IASA frequencies.  But the IASA hadn't sent them, and the signals
seemed to be originating from somewhere outside of Earth's orbit.  At
first, they wrote them off as some kind of weird signal feedback
bounced off the moon or something, sort of a communications echo.  But
finally, they got a clear signal, and this time the signal came with a
source.  The crew of the station were told by the signal to look out a
particular window.  When they did, they saw the Farscape One.  The
voice then identified himself as Commander John Crichton."

"You mean he just pulled up to the station in the Farscape module and
said 'here I am'? asked Jack with a stunned tone.

"Exactly," replied DK.  "John told them to patch him into Houston or
Canaveral, said he wanted to speak to Dr. David Kyle.  They got me and
a bunch of suits from IASA, DOD, CIA...and we got on the line with him
about an hour later.  I didn't believe it was him, despite the images
of the Farscape we were getting from the space station.  I quizzed
him, as the suits listened in, and he got every question right.  Only
John could have known some of those answers.  That's when I started
believing it was him.  I was so happy that I almost wet my pants!
But, that's when the suits broke in and wanted answers as to where
John had been, how he had stayed alive, etc.  That's when John told us
this crazy story.  Apparently, he claims he has been living on an
alien starship for the past four years, with a boatload of aliens.  He
says they can communicate because of some sort of microbes they
injected him with.  They are perfectly harmless, he says, but they
allow for them to communicate.  He says these aliens are his friends
and comrades.  John also said that he and his...friends have been on
the run from a bunch of Nazi-like aliens called Peacekeepers.  Anyhow,
he said that he wanted to speak to the President and to you, Jack, and
not necessarily in that order."

"I've spoken to him, Colonel," said the President.  "So has the
Secretary of Defense, the Vice President, the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs, and several others.  He told us some things, but refused to
speak with us any further until we got you here to the Pentagon.  So,
here you sit.  We are going to contact him in about twenty minutes.
He said he had to return to his 'starship' to refuel."

"Colonel," said another man at the table, whom Jack recognized as the
Secretary of Defense.  "I want to caution you about something before
you speak to him.  We are not 100% sure this is truly your son.  Dr.
Kyle seems to think so, and he does present the air of telling the
truth.  But...he has been allegedly living in space for four years,
among aliens.  The story sounds far fetched, but if true, who knows if
this is really your son or some alien made to be like him.  Perhaps
this is some way for some alien menace to use your son to attack us.
We just don't know.  We don't have enough facts."

"And he has refused to come down to speak with us in person," said the
President.  "He doesn't trust us.  He thinks that we are gonna treat
him like he is some sort of X File.  Of course, due to the tests we
would have to run on him, he may not be far from the truth on that
assumption.  It would be a necessity to do those tests, of course, to
make sure he was trully human and that he wasn't carrying some kind of
alien parisites or diseases."

"Of course," said DK with insincere agreement.

"What does he want, then?" asked Jack.  "If he isn't coming down, then
why did he contact us?  How does he intend to come home?"

"He said he would only explain to you, sir," said DK.

"For now," said the President, "we are keeping this secret, both from
the public and the other nations.  The crew of the space station has
been placed on communications black out, and everyone at the IASA at
the time Crichton called has been placed in protective custody.  This
matter is to be kept in strict quarantine.  Do you understand that,
Colonel?"

"Yes, Mr. President," replied Jack.

************************

The men at the Pentagon sub-level conference table provided Jack with
more details on John's story he told DK, and things they wanted Jack
to ask John when he called.  Finally, the twenty minutes passed, and
an Air Force technician spoke. 

"Mr. President," said the young man, "we are receiving IASA frequency
patch in.  Its Crichton."

"Put him on," said the President.

A television monitor came to life, and the image of John Crichton came
on the screen.  Jack examined to image very closely.  He saw that the
man certainly looked like John, but he also looked a few years older. 
Jack could see stress lines on the younger man's face, and could tell
that his son had been through a lot.  He also saw him wearing a black
flight suit of some kind.

"Commander Crichton," said the President.  "Can you hear me?"

"Affirmative," replied Crichton.  "I read you loud and clear, sir.  I
can see you on my monitor, too.  Is my Dad there?"

After a few moments, Jack worked up the courage to speak.  "I'm here,
son," he said, leaning forward so John could see him on the monitor.

John looked at his Father on the viewer in silence for several
moments.  He drank in the image of the man he loved so dearly, whom he
thought he would never see again.  And now he was seeing him, and
talking to him.  For so long, John had dreamed of this moment.

"Dad," he said.  "Its good to hear your voice.  I bet your surprised
to see me, huh?"

"To say the least, son," said Jack.  "How are you?"

"A lot better now that I'm seeing you, Dad," said John.  "Boy, do I
have some stories to tell you.  But first, I think we should get down
to brass tax.  Have they filled you in?"

"They have son," said Jack.  "They tell me you don't intend to come
down here.  They've also told me why.  I sympathize with your
concerns, but...how do you intend to come home, son?"

"Dad, Earth...isn't my home anymore.  I would never be able to fit in
down there again, live a normal life.  Even if the government left me
alone, there are...other reasons, one's I can't go into now.  I do
want to see you.  But since I can't come to your place, I was
wondering...if you would like to take another small step back into
space to see me."

"Um, Commander," broke in the President.  "I'm not sure that we can do
that.  How is he going to get up there, for one?  And...I'm not sure
if I want to risk sending him.  We're not even sure if you are who you
say you are?"

"Have my Dad ask me some more questions," said Crichton.  "I'll proove
it to you."

Jack asked John several questions that only his son would know the
answer to.  Like DK's questions, John answered each one correctly.
Jack, like DK, became fully convinced that this was his son.  But the
President and the Defense Secretary still did not want to let Jack go
up.

"Commander," said the Defense Secretary, "we would like to meet you in
person so we can hear any information you may have for us about your
experiences in space.  This would also allow us to better verify that
you are who you say you are.  But...I can't see us allowing anyone to
go up to your ship.  There is too much risk involved."

"Mr. Secretary," said Crichton, "I have vital information to give you
on technology that can help Earth advance further in space
exploration, and also help you prepare for the threats that you will
find when you go to the stars.  But you are not going to get them
unless I get to see my Dad."

"I'm willing to take the risk," said Jack.

"I am, too," said DK.  He then looked at the screen.  "If you would
allow you're old buddy to tag along with your Dad."

"Sure thing, DK," said John with a smile.  "You can come to the party,
too."

"No one is going anywhere until we set some ground rules," said the
President.  "Commander, it sounds like you have some valuable
information to give us.  I also understand your desire to see your
father.  Perhaps we can work out a compromise.  But first, I have to
know how you would bring your father and Dr. Kyle up to your ship."

"One of our transport pods would land and pick them up," said John.
"After first verifying from the air that no military presence was
around when we did.  They would visit Moya, our ship, and we would
return them after a few days."

"Alright, I'm willing to consider it" said Mr. President.  "But let's
talk terms.  First, the Colonel and Dr. Kyle will have to go through
full decontamination procedures upon return."

"Agreed," said Jack and DK.

"Second," said the Defense Secretary, "I want a few others to
accompany them, both to debrief you on some of the information you
have, and to better assess your intentions and validity."

"Who are we talking about?" asked John.

"Several government officials, military officers, and scientists,"
said the Defense Secretary.

John was quiet for several moments, considering the request before
replying.  "Fine.  You can send six people, and only six people.  But
I have a condition of my own.  My Dad gets to select the senior member
of the team you send up with them.  He knows a lot of people in the
government and military.  I trust him to select the right person."

"That sounds acceptable," said the President.  "Just as long as he
meets with our approval.  Colonel, do you have any ideas at this time
on who you would choose?"

Jack sat there for a few moments, thinking about the possibilities.
Finally, his thoughts turned to an old friend.  Jack had known this
man for many years, and John had also known him.  He was a respected
military officer of flag rank, and he was experienced with political
matters.  Jack felt he would be the perfect man for the job.  He also
felt that the man's distinguished record and experience would weigh in
to get the President and his men to agree to the choice.

"Mr. President, I think I know just the man," said Jack.

***********************
Two hours later, a man in a Navy dress blue uniform was escorted
through the side entrance to the Pentagon by the same men who brought
in Jack Crichton.  The balding man in his late forties removed his
cover as he stepped into the building.  The armed military guards
saluted him as soon as they saw his Admiral's bars on his sleeves.

Admiral A.J. Chegwidden, the U.S. Navy's Judge Advoctate General, did
not look happy when he approached the man in a grey suit who waited
for him at the duty clerk's desk.  The suited man saw the perturbed
look on his face.

"Hello, A.J.," said the Secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV).  "I'm sorry
to pull you out of bed at this hour."

"Not at all, Mr. Secretary," replied Chegwidden with a false lack of
annoyance.  "I'm usually up in an hour from now for my 6AM run anyway.
But, just what am I doing here, sir?"

"I don't know that myself," replied the SECNAV.  "I received a call at
home from the Secretary of Defense, telling me to come and to summon
you here as well."

"Sirs," said the duty clerk to the two men.  "You'll need to sign in. 
You'll receive ID badges at the sub-level desk."

The two men signed in, and proceeded to the elevator.  A man in a suit
greeted them, and took them down the elevator to sub-level two.  Upon
exiting, they verified their identity with the fingerprint scanner,
and were issued badges.  The suited man escorted the SECNAV and the
Admiral to the conference room.

As the Navy's Judge Advocate General (or JAG), Admiral Chegwidden is
the Navy's senior legal officer.  He oversess all of the Navy's legal
staff, who were posted on ships and at installations around the world.
The job of the Navy's JAG Corps is to investigate cases of violations
of the law by Navy and Marine Corps personnel, prosecute and defend
accused personnel in hearings and courts martial, and to advise
various agencies and individuals on matters of Navy and Defense
Department policy and international law.  However, Chegwidden (who is
also a former Navy SEAL Team Officer) was summoned to the Pentagon on
this occasion for a much different purpose.

When they entered the conference room, the SECNAV and Admiral
Chegwidden were greeted by the sight of the President, the Defense
Secretary, and several other government officials and high ranking
military officers.   Chegwidden also saw a young man in blue jacket
who appeared to be a civilian.  The older man standing next to him was
someone the Admiral recognized immediately, but waited to greet until
he paid his respects to the President first.

"Mr. Secretary, Admiral," said the President, "welcome to the party.
Please, have a seat and we'll fill you in."

Admiral Chegwidden walked over to Jack Crichton and warmly shook the
former astronaut's hand.  "Jack!" said the Admiral with astonishment. 
"How the hell are ya?"

"That's a very difficult question to answer at this moment, for
reason's you'll understand in a few moments," said Jack.  "But its
good to see you, A.J."

Jack Crichton and A.J. Chegwidden had met a many years ago, when both
were checked into a military hospital and ended up in the same room.
Chegwidden was a young Navy SEAL who had been injured in a training
accident, and Jack was being prepped for minor surgery.  The two had
hit it off right away, and began a friendship that would last for
thirty years.

The men all sat down at the conference table, and the SECNAV and
Admiral Chegwidden were filled in on what was going on.  They learned
of the return of John Crichton, his story about Moya, and John's
request for his Father and DK to visit him on Moya.  The President
told them that John had insisted that a small group of government
officials, military officers, and scientists go up with them, six
people in all.  That was when Jack dropped the bomb on A.J.

"A.J.," said Jack.  "John told the President that I had to be the one
to choose the senior government or military offical to go.  The
President agreed, as long as my choice met his approval.  I chose
you."

"Me!" said A.J. with a shock.  "Jack, I'm no damned astronaut!  You
want me to go into space with you!  I'm still havin a hard time
believing this story about John being alive!  I mean, God knows I
would love it to be true.  I've known him since he was a child.  But,
this whole thing just sounds like something out of Buck Rogers!"

"I know this is shock, A.J.," said Jack.  "But all the information we
have says this man is indeed my son.  He's extended an invitation.  I
have to see him, to know!  I need your help, old friend.  Will you do
it?"

A.J. was quiet for a moment before nodding.  "Alright," said the
Admiral.  "I'll do it.  Who else is going?"

"Besides you, Colonel Crichton, and Dr. Kyle," said the Defense
Secretary, "we are also sending a Doctor Robert Cavanaugh from IASA,
Professor James Carter from MIT, and one other person whom I
understand you know, Admiral."

"Hello, Admiral," said a man's voice from the doorway.  A.J.
Chegwidden turned to find Clayton Webb standing behind him.  Webb was
obstensibly a Special Assistant to the State Department, but was
actually with the CIA.  The Admiral knew him from several operations
he and his people had gotten wrapped up in with Webb over the years.

"Webb," said the Admiral.  "I should have known you would jump out of
some tree eventually when I got called to the Pentagon in the middle
of the night."

"Look's like I get to play Captain Kirk with you, Admiral," said Webb,
as he sat at the table.  "Exploring strange, new worlds."

"Mr. Webb," said the President.  "This is a serious matter we're
talking about."

"Of course, sir," said Webb.  "I apologize."

"Mr. President," said the Admiral.  "Who else is going?  You said six
people would go with Jack and Dr. Kyle."

"That depends on you, Admiral," said the President.  "I want you to
pick two lower ranking officers to accompany you as aides and
advisors."

The SECNAV looked at Chegwidden.  "I can already guess at your
choices."

"Yes, Mr. Secretary," said Chegwidden.  "I want Commander Rabb and Lt.
Colonel MacKenzie."

"And they would be?" asked the President.

"Two of my best officers on my staff, Mr. President," said Chegwidden.
"I trust their counsel."

"Very well," said the Defense Secretary.  "We'll get them the proper
clearances."

*******************************
"Are you sure I shouldn't go with you, John?" asked D'Argo, as
Crichton prepared to board one of Moya's transport pods.  "You may
need someone to watch your back."

"I've got Aeryn for that, big guy," said John.

"Yes, but I'll be up in my Prowler," said Aeryn, as she stepped over
from her sleek space fighter.  "He would be in the pod with you in
case there was trouble."

"Aeryn, D'Argo, I appreciate the concern," said John.  "But you've
gotta understand.  These people have never seen an alien before.  I
need them to trust me, and if I show up with D'Argo, it could just
be...complicated.  Besides, I would rather that it be only me at
risk."

"Well, don't worry, I'll keep a close eye out for their military
forces," said Aeryn.  "If I see them, I'll distract them long enough
for you to get away, then join you back on Moya."

"Don't hurt them, Aeryn," said John.  "Please, be careful.  They are
still my people."

"I'll be cautious John," she said, turning to go to her Prowler.

"Aeryn," said John.  

Aeryn turned to face him.

"Be careful with yourself, too," said John.  "Remember, their aircraft
do have air-to-air missiles that could conceivable hit your Prowler."

"Hmmph," said Aeryn.  "Not in a million cycles."

"Don't underestimate them, baby," said John.  "They're Human,
remember, and as you always say..."

"I've learned not to underestimate a Human," said Aeryn with a smile. 
"Alright, I'll be careful.  But if your people are true to their word,
there will be no danger."

"I trust my Dad, and I trust Admiral Chegwidden," said John.  "But the
others....well, no use standing around here.  Let's go get our
visitors."

John boarded the transport pod and Aeryn climbed into the cockpit of
her Prowler.  Both ships left Moya's docking bay, and streaked off
from the orbit of Earth's moon towards John's homeworld.  

As John descended into the atmosphere, he drank in the sight of the
North American continent as it loomed closer and closer.  He let his
eyes wander over the eastern seaboard, the Florida peninsula, the Gulf
Coast, and the Rocky Mountains.  John guided his pod in the direction
of the American southwest, setting a course to land in the desert
south of Tuscon, Arizona.  They chose this location because it was
open country, and it would be easier to spot any military or
government presence in the area.

John landed the pod at the prearranged coordinates.  He got up from
the pilot's seat, and pulled out his pulse pistol.  John hated to have
a gun in hand when greeting his Dad, DK, and the other first Humans he
had seen in a while, but necessity prevailed in his mind.  He was
determined to be prepared for anything.

The pod's door opened, and Crichton looked out onto the desert
landscape.  His gaze immediately fell upon two Humvee military all
terrain vehicles parked nearby, and eight figures standing in front of
them.  But before focusing on them, John scanned the landscape, seeing
if there was a sign of anyone else.  Seeing no one, he still checked
with Aeryn flying high above in her Prowler, who also reported no one
within a good distance of the transport.

Satisfied that John was alone with Moya's impending guests, Crichton
climbed down from the pod and slowly approached the group of people
standing near the humvees.  John immediately recognized his father and
DK.  He also recognized the khaki uniform clad Admiral Chegwidden
(whom John had known since he was a child).   Crichton then took a
good look at the others who were with them.  John picked out a man and
a woman standing next to the Admiral.  The man was in his thirties
with dark hair, wearing a Navy khaki uniform, with insignia that
indicated that he was a Commander.  John also saw flight wings on his
uniform worn by Navy pilots.  The woman standing near the Admiral was
of similar age to the Commander, with short brown hair and tan skin.
She was wearing the uniform of a Marine Corps Lt. Colonel.

The other three men that Crichton did not recognize were dressed as
civilians.  One was a brown haired man wearing a white button up shirt
and brown windbreaker.  The other two were similarly dressed, one a
black man in his thirties, the other a gray haired man in his fifties.
Crichton figured they must be the government official and two
scientists he was told about.

As John approached, gun in hand, his Father looked at him with a
mixture of shock, joy, and concern.  Neither men spoke at first, but
finally Jack broke the silence.

"Hello, son," said Jack.  He moved to hug John, but the latter backed
away slightly.  Seeing Jack's confusion, John asked the burning
question on his mind.

"Dad," said John, "is there anyone else around?  No tricks, right."

"No tricks, son," said Jack.  "You've got my word."

"John," said Admiral Chegwidden.  "That gun...if it is a gun, is not
necessary.  Why don't you holster it?"

"Hello to you too, Admiral," said John.  "Its good to see you again.
I'm glad my Dad picked you."  He then looked over at DK.  "Hey, buddy.
Bet you never thought you would see me again?"

"Yeah," said DK nervously, his eyes focused on the gun.  The young
scientist was confused by John's actions.  This was the same John
Crichton he had grown up with, but not the same man.  The John he knew
would never cling to a gun like a safety net as he did.  "Good to see
ya, man.  Just, can't you...put the gun away?"

"First things first," said John.  "Who are the others?"

"These are two of my officers," said Admiral Chegwidden, indicating
the other two uniformed people.  "Commander Harmon Rabb, Navy, and Lt.
Colonel Sarah MacKenzie, Marine Corps."

"And the civilians?" asked John.

"I'm Clayton Webb," said one of the men.  "Special Assistant to the
State Department.  These two gentlemen are Dr. Cavanaugh and Professor
Carter.  Look, we expected to be greeted as guests, not at gunpoint.
Just what is the meaning of this?"

"I had to make sure you are who you say you are," said John.  "Your
identities fit the information given to me from the Pentagon."  He
holstered his pulse pistol.  "I'm sorry for the gun, but...I had to be
sure."  John then looked at his Dad, who looked very much relieved now
that his son had put the gun away.

Father and son wrapped their arms around each other for several
moments.  Both of them failed to hold back their tears at their
reunion.

"My God, son," said Jack, his arms wound tightly around his long lost
son.  "I thought I had lost you!"

"I know, Dad," said John.  "I've missed you."

The two men broke the embrace, and John went over to DK.  Smiling, the
two men grabbed each other and hugged one another.

"You sure as hell know how to make an entrance, man," said DK.  "That
ship...is incredible."

"You think that's nifty, wait til you see Moya," said John, breaking
from his friend's hug.

"John," said Chegwidden, walking over and shaking the younger man's
hand.  "Welcome home, son."

"Thank you, sir," said John.  

John then shook hands with Commander Rabb.  "Commander, its good to
meet you," said Rabb.  "I've heard a lot about you."

Crichton nodded.  "Those flight wings I see on your uniform?" asked
John.

"Yes," said Rabb.  "I'm a tomcat pilot...well, in my spare time."  He
said the last part with a smile.

"Colonel MacKenzie," said Crichton, shaking the female Marine's hand.

"Commander," she said.  "I have to say I was little worried before you
holstered that weapon.  Does everyone up there have one of those?"

"Not everyone," said John.  "But, I've come to carry one for a lot of
reasons.  Long story, I'll tell you all about it later."

"Dr. Crichton," said the black man, introduced as Dr. Cavanaugh.  "I
came on at IASA after the Farscape disaster, so I know we've never
met.  But your reputation precedes you."

"Doctor," said Crichton, shaking his hand.  

Then, the older Professor Carter came over to shake hands.  "Professor
Carter," said Crichton.  "I was glad to hear you were coming.  Your
work on Cosmic Theory  was required study when I was in grad school."

"I'm glad I was selected, too," said Carter.  "I can't wait to see all
of these wonders you have mentioned in your communications."

"Commander Crichton," said Webb.  "I hope what we've seen here is not
going to be an indicator of your hospitality.  Otherwise, I just may
have to call off this mission."

"Don't worry, Mr. Webb," said Crichton.  "You kept your end of the
deal, so I will keep mine.  You will be welcomed on Moya as honored
guests.  Speaking of which, we need to go.  Would everyone care to
board the transport pod now, please?"

**
After the transport pod touched down in Moya's landing bay, John got
up and faced his Human passengers.  "Okay," he said.  "Just to prepare
you...remember you are going to be meeting some alien lifeforms.  Some
of them may...shock you.  They did me, when I first met them.  But,
they are prepared for your arrival, and are friendly."

"Thanks for the warning, John," said Admiral.  "Just as long as none
of em try to mind meld with me, I'll be alright."

"Then, let's go," said John.

The Humans exited the transport pod and stepped onto the deck of
Moya's maintenance and landing bay.  John's guests stood in awe of
their surroundings,  taking everything in as they came to the
realization that this was a living, alien ship they were standing on. 
The scientists were like kids in a candy shop, trying to fit Moya into
their Earth methodology of scientific classification.

Then, the Humans noticed a group of figures standing in the bay
staring at them.  Several of the Humans took one look at Moya's crew,
and backed away slightly with nervousness.  Jack, DK, Dr. Cavanaugh,
and the JAG officers stood their ground and merely stared at the
aliens.

"Well, guys," said John to Moya's crew.  "These are our guests.  Now,
before I make formal introductions," he said, turning to the Humans.
"There is only one way you all are going to be able to understand my
friends and converse with them.  You will need to be injected with
translator microbes.  They are perfectly harmless...I've had them in
me for four cycles...years now.  So, who is up for it?"

"No way!" said Webb immediately.  "I'm not having some alien microbes
injected into me!"

"Come on, Webb," said Rabb.  "Show some chutzpah.  I'll go for it."

"So will I," said MacKenzie.

Everyone else also agreed to the microbes.  Webb, however, still
declined to have them injected.  After the DRD's injected everyone,
Crichton decided introductions were in order.

"Lady and gentlemen," said John to the Humans.  "Allow me to introduce
my friends.  The big guy there is Ka D'Argo of the Luxans.  The two
girls are Chiana of the Nebari and Jool, an Interon."

"Joolushko Henta Fevalis," said Jool forthrightly.

"Um, Commander," said Rabb to John.  "My microbes must not be working
too well.  I didn't get a word that Jool person just said."

"Your fine," said D'Argo.  "None of us understand her full name
either."

"Holy shit!" said DK.  "I can...I can understand him.  He sounds like
he's speakin English."

"Just wait to till he's cussing," said John.  "Then, you'll see how
his native tongue really sounds!"

"Ahummh," said Rygel.  "You have not yet introduced me.  I am Rygel
the Sixteenth, Dominar of the Hynerian Empire, ruler of over 10
billion subjects..."

"And obnoxious gas bag," said John.

"Hey, I resent..."began Rygel.

D'Argo clamped his mouth shut.  "Thanks, big guy," said John.
"People, be careful of Rygel, he'll steal you blind if you let him."

While Rygel still mumbled, the Humans noticed a dark haired, human
looking woman come onto the scene from another, meaner looking ship
parked nearby.  John went to her and took her hand.  She smiled as
John led her to the Humans for introductions.

"Now, its my honor to introduce you all to Aeryn Sun," said John.
"And no, she isn't Human.  She is of a species called Sebacean."

"Whoa, Sebacean did you say?" asked Webb.  "Didn't you say that these
Peacekeepers were Sebacean.  Is she a..."

"Not anymore," said John.  "It's a long story."

"Welcome to Moya," said Aeryn.

DK stepped forward and took Aeryn's hand.  "The pleasure is all mine,
I'm sure," said DK.

"At ease there, Dr. Kyle," said Chegwidden.

"Um, right," said DK, backing away.

"Now, for reverse introductions," said John.  "People, this is my
Father, Jack Crichton, and my best friend, DK."

"Its good to finally meet you both," said Aeryn.  "John's spoken so
much about you."

"Thank you, Aeryn Sun," said Jack.  "Were you the one keeping an eye
on us from the air on Earth?"

"Yes," said Aeryn.  "We had to be sure your military wasn't planning
on seizing John."

"I don't understand this paranoia you people have about us tricking
you," said MacKenzie.  "Why would we hurt Commander Crichton?"

"We'll explain that later," said John. "For now, let me continue with
the introductions.  Everyone, this is Admiral A.J. Chegwidden and
Commander Harmon Rabb, of the United States Navy, and this Lt. Colonel
Sarah MacKenzie of the United States Marine Corps."

"Marine Corps?" asked D'Argo.  "What's that?"

"We're a service attached to the Navy," replied MacKenzie.  "We're
their ground forces, you might say, used in a variety of operations."

"So you are a grunt?" asked Jool.

"And proud of it," said MacKenzie.

"These other three gentlemen are Clayton Webb, Dr. Cavanaugh, and
Professor Carter," said John.  "Webb is from my people's government,
the other two are scientists."

"Which one's the drannit who won't take translator microbes?" asked
Aeryn.

"Webb," said John.

"Hey, was she talkin about me?" asked Webb.  "What did she say?"

"I said you are a drannit for not taking the microbes," said Aeryn.

"She says its nice to meet you," said John.

The other Humans chuckled, having understood what Aeryn said, though
not entirely clear on what a drannit is.  Webb didn't like being the
but of a joke, so he stood there fuming.

"Okay," said John.  "Let's get you settled in quarters, and show you
around.  You still have to meet Pilot."

As they left the landing bay, Rabb walked over to Aeryn.  "Hey, Miss
Sun, um..."

"You can call me Aeryn," she replied.  

"Oh, good," said Rabb.  "Call me Harm.  Anyhow, I was wondering if you
could show me that ship you flew in here with later?  I'm a pilot
myself, and I would love to see her inside and out."

"Her?" asked Aeryn.  "Oh, yes, that's right, Humans call their ships
females.  I suppose I could later on."

"Great, thanks," said Harm, as Aeryn walked faster to catch up to
John.  As she did, MacKenzie came up behind Harm.

"So, you want to see her ship, huh?" asked MacKenzie with a smile.
"You sure her SHIP is the only thing you want to see inside and out?"

"At ease, Mac," said Harm in a placating tone.  "She's an alien,
remember."

"Yeah, but I thought you believed in that saying about gold wings and
a white uniform," said Mac.  "About how they'd get you a bed
anywhere."

"One, I'm not wearing my whites," said Harm.  "And two, I'm not
interested in her that way.  I just want to see that ship.  It looks
like a tomcat, but a lot leaner and meaner."

"Okay, I believe you," said Mac.  "Though, I could have sworn I saw
you checkin out her six as she walked away just now..."

"Commander, Colonel," said the Admiral, turning to the two of them who
were now tailing behind the rest of the group.  "If you two are
through playing love connection, let's catch up."

"Aye, sir," said Harm and Mac simultaneously.

************************************
For several arns, Crichton and his friends showed the Humans around
Moya.  They were introduced to Pilot, and the Humans reacted with even
greater shock to Moya's symbiot than they did to Moya's alien
crewmembers.  As the Humans were shown more sections of the ship,
Clayton Webb decided to go ahead and accept the translator microbes.
He did so after Aeryn showed the Humans some of Moya's control
systems.  Possessing the curiosity that most spies have, Webb decided
not to be left out of such conversations.  In order for that to
happen, he had to take the microbes.

After a few arns, the Humans and Moya's crew went off in different
directions.  Jack, Admiral Chegwidden, and Colonel MacKenzie were
talking to D'Argo, Chiana, and Jool in the dining chamber.  Webb was
being entertained by Rygel, while Crichton, DK, Dr. Cavanaugh, and
Professor Carter were examining the Farscape One's modifications.
Meanwhile, Commander Rabb was being shown the Prowler's systems by
Aeryn.

"So, this is your attitude control," said Harm to Aeryn, pointing to
one of the controls in the Prowler's cockpit.

"Right," replied Aeryn.  "And this is vertical thrust here.  Are you
following along so far?"

"Well, I have to admit, the configuration of your controls are
different," said Harm.  "But, most of the general flight principles
are the same.  The main differences in that area have to due with
space flight vs. atmospheric flight."

"The aircraft you fly...what's it called again?" asked Aeryn.

"A tomcat," replied Harm.  

"Right," she replied.  "The tomcat is not capable of space flight."

"No," said Harm.  "It isn't.  Tell me, would it be possible for me to
take your Prowler out for a quick spin."

Aeryn gave him an incredulous look.  "If you mean by a 'spin' a
flight, the answer is no."

"Ah, come on," said Harm with a smile.  "I promise I won't break it."

Aeryn looked at him for a moment.  "You know, I'd bet that smile gets
you whatever you want from most Human females, but it won't work with
me."

She climbed down from the Prowler and closed the cockpit.  Harm
followed and decided to engage in some verbal sparring with Aeryn.

"You never know, Aeryn," said Harm.  "There's a saying on Earth about
gold wings and a Navy uniform."

"And what's that?" asked Aeryn.

"They'll get you a bed anywhere," said Harm with a beaming grin.

"Hmm," said Aeryn, "except here."

Aeryn then turned and went over to where John, DK, and Cavanaugh, and
Carter were examining the Farscape module, with Harm close behind
chuckling at Aeryn's frank reply.

"So, you had to totally reroute the controls through this interface in
order to get the, um, hetch drive to work?" asked DK as Aeryn and Harm
approached.

"You got it," said John.  "The extra mechanisms here were necessary to
maintain hetch thrust.  Aeryn helped me install them."

"Well," said Harm.  "She's much more than just a pretty face."

Crichton shot Harm a look of irritation.  Then, with a slight chuckle,
replied.  "Yep, she is definitely much more than a pretty face."

"So, Commander," said Dr. Cavanaugh.  "You said you have used the
Farscape to create several wormholes and proto-wormholes."

"Correct," said John.

"I would be very interested to see your data on the wormhole
instability problem," said Professor Carter.

"I'll make it available to you," said John.  "For now, I think its
almost dinner time.  I'm afraid we're low on supplies, and we can't
exactly send out for a pizza up here.  So, its food cubes and leftover
Sebacean mint stew all around."

As the group got up to leave, Crichton caught Aeryn's arm.  DK looked
back, and John told him and the rest to go on ahead.  After the other
Humans had left, John turned to Aeryn.

"So," began John, "how do you think things are going?"

"Fine so far," said Aeryn.  "Of course, we haven't told them the whole
story yet, about the Peacekeepers and Scorpius and..."

"Sugar and spice and everything not nice," finished John.  "I know.  I
figure we can do that after dinner.  So, how did you and Commander
Rabb get along?"

"He's...interesting," said Aeryn.  "He's the first soldier I've met
from your world.  He strikes me as a competent person, if not lacking
a bit in seriousness."

"Was he...flirting with you?" asked John.

Aeryn smiled, and put her arms around him.  "John, I do believe you
are jealous," she said.

"Well, I did...notice he was staring at you a bit," said John.  "And
he is...handsome, I guess."

"You know, I would love to recreate with him," said Aeryn.  "But
there's just one problem."

"What's that?" asked John with a strange expression.

Aeryn leaned close to his face and whispered.  "He's not you," she
said, before capturing his lips in a kiss.

The two of them began to passionately kiss for several moments, before
they heard someone clear their throat.  Still in each other's arms,
John and Aeryn looked to see Jack standing in the entrance to the
maintenance bay with an expression of shock on his face.

"Pilot told me you were down here, John," said Jack.  "I'm...sorry if
I interrupted something."

"Its alright," said Aeryn.  "We were...finished here, anyway.  I'll
leave you two alone."

Giving one more smile to John, Aeryn turned and left the bay.  John
rubbed the back of his neck nervously as his Father approached.

"So, John," began Jack, "I gather you and Aeryn are more than
just...friends."

John nodded his head.  "We're...lovers, Dad.  Actually, I consider her
to be more like my wife than just my lover.  We just
haven't...formalized that arrangement yet."

"I see," said Jack.  "Well, this is...unexpected.  Though, I did see
how the two of you smiled at each other when we first came aboard."

"So," said John.  "What do you think of her?"

"I haven't really had a chance to talk to her just yet," said Jack.
"She is very beautiful, that's for sure.  And I can tell she cares for
you very much by the way she smiles at you.  The rest...you will have
to tell me about."

"Well," said John.  "Aeryn is unlike any woman I have ever met.  First
time we did meet, she kicked my ass.  She's tough, strong willed,
cunning, and deadly in battle.  She can also be as stubborn as a mule.
Aeryn is also very...passionate.  Under that hard exterior is a great
deal of love and caring for her friends and, luckily, for me.  I
wouldn't have survived out here without her.  She...completes me.  I'd
die for her, Dad."

"In many ways, she sounds like someone I knew," said Jack.

"Who?" 

"Your Mother," said Jack.  "Of course, I'd still like to get to know
her better, but if you want my preliminary assessment, I'd say she has
the qualities needed to live with a Crichton."

"Yeah," said John with a smile.  "So, you hungry?"

"I sure am," said Jack. "This has been one...interesting day."

"You haven't heard the whole story yet," said John.  "Then, we'll
talk...interesting."

**
After dinner, Crichton and the rest of Moya's crew filled in their
visitors on the full story of everything that had happened for the
past four cycles.  The Peacekeepers, the Scarrens, the Nebari,
Scorpius, and various other villains were on the list.  So were
wormholes, deaths and rebirths, twinning, and critters were all on the
agenda.  All of the Humans sat and listened with astonishment and
disbelief to the story of what Moya's crew had endured.  

Jack in particular was disturbed to hear about how his son was
tortured in the aurora chair, and was injected with a neural clone of
his arch enemy which eventually took over his body.  He could see his
son's pain as he described how the neural clone, in control of John,
killed Aeryn, then the relief on John's face as he relayed the
information about Aeryn's rebirth.  But, Jack also heard how this
rebirth cost the life of a friend named Zhaan.  At the end of the
story, Jack put his hand on his head in exhaustion, feeling like he
had lived through in that arn of story what his son had lived through
for the past four years.

"Good God," said Admiral Chegwidden, "is there anybody is this damned
Uncharted Territories of yours that isn't hostile?"

"Some," said John, "but they are few and far between.  For example,
the Sebacean Royal Colonies was a nice place.  Just, careful who you
kiss if you ever get there."

"Sounds like you would get into trouble there, Harm," said MacKenzie
with a smile.

"Ha, ha," said Harm, "very funny, Mac."

"Commander," said Webb.  "I would assume then that you would consider
such races as Peacekeepers and Scarrens and Nebari to be threats to
Earth."

"Not at the moment, they don't know where you are at yet," said John. 
"Too far off the beaten trail.  But, someday, they will find Earth.
And our people had better be prepared for when they arrive."

"I assume that's the help you want to provide," said Webb.

"Yes," said John.  "I want to provide you with some valuable
technological information.  But, I want there to be some details about
how its used discussed.  Unfortunately, our species has the tendency
to turn new weapons on each other.  I want to take steps to try and
prevent that, and see there development focused on meeting future
alien threats."

"Commander," said Rabb, "if these weapons can be used to defend the
United States against Human enemies, why wouldn't you favor that?
After all, you are an American."

"Yes, I am," said John.  "But...being out here,  I've had to represent
our whole species to everyone I meet.  That gives me a slightly
different perspective on the importance of nationalities.  I still
consider myself an American, but I am claim the title of Human by the
necessity of life out here.  Therefore, I have to consider all of
humanity."

"Commander, I get what you're saying," said Colonel MacKenzie.  "But,
I assume you know about the war."

"I've been catching up with the new broadcasts," said John.  "I know
all about September 11th and the war on terrorism.  And if this
technology can aid in some fashion to defeating and preventing
terrorism, I'm all for that.  Just as long as the technology is shared
equally with other nations threatened by terrorism.  But, I want you
to understand something.  The Peacekeepers, if they ever got to Earth,
would make Osama Bin Laden look like Santa Claus.  That's where the
focus in developing the new tech I give you should be focused."

"Understood, Commander," said Chegwidden.  "We'll talk about it.  For
now, I think we all need to hit the rack and get some sleep.  Been a
long day."

"Of course, sir," said Crichton.  "Good night everyone."

As the Humans got up to leave, D'Argo approached John.  "John," said
D'Argo, "I'm confused.  Why do they have to hit a rack before going to
sleep?"

John smiled.  "It's a Navy thing, D'Argo.  Just an expression."

"Frell," said D'Argo, "I was hoping the confusing expressions were
limited to just you.  I guess those hopes are dashed.  Good night."

"Sweet dreams, big guy," said John.

Everyone left, except for Jack, Aeryn, and John.  Jack was still
sitting with his hand on his head, and looked deeply troubled.  John
and Aeryn walked over to him.

"Dad," said John, "you okay?"

Jack looked at John.  "Why, son, would you want to live...in a
universe that has hunted you and tortured you?  I...can't
understand..."

"Dad, if I returned to Earth, what do you think my chances would be
for living a normal life?" said John.  "If my return is kept secret,
that means limits to where I can go in public and a new identity and
being constantly bombarded with questions for the rest of my life
about everything I've seen out here.  If my return is made public,
then the media joins the government in hounding me.  What kind of life
would I have?  At least out here, I can effectively defend myself
against the dangers, and live a somewhat normal life with people I
care about."  Then, looking at Aeryn, John continued.  "Then there's
Aeryn.  I won't leave her, Dad.  I can't take her to Earth.  What do
you think would happen to her...an alien in Earth custody?"

"I wouldn't let anything like that happen, son," said Jack, "I'm sure
A.J. Chegwidden and Mr. Webb would..."

"Can't guarantee her safety though, can you?" asked John.

Jack thought for a moment, before shaking his head no.  "Dad, I've
made my choice, knowing it means leaving you again.  I'm standing by
it.  Its for the best."

"Well," said Jack, getting up from his chair.  "I know better than to
try and change your mind.  And I still have several more days to get
to know my son again."  Then, Jack looked with a smile at Aeryn.  "And
I'll get to know the woman that my son loves, and who loves my son."

Jack put his arms on Aeryn's shoulders.  She was confused by the
gesture, but did not refuse it.  "Welcome to the family, Aeryn," said
Jack.

Then, Jack and Aeryn hugged one another.  Aeryn looked over Jack's
shoulder at John, and saw a beaming smile on his face.  She smiled at
him in reply.

********************************
The next morning after breakfast, Moya's crewmembers and their Human
visitors each went off in different directions in groups.  Commander
Rabb decided to go and check out this terrace he had heard so much
about.

When confronted by the open view of the stars and space around Moya,
mixed with an impressive view of Earth's moon (which Moya was still
orbiting), Commander Harmon Rabb found himself completely enraptured. 
He stood their for a long time, taking in the view, wishing briefly
that he still smoked cigars so he could add the smell of tobacco to
the ambiance of the moment.

"Hell of a view, isn't it?" asked a voice from behind Harm.

The Commander turned around and saw John Crichton walk into the room. 
"Yeah," said Harm with a smile, "it is impressive.  And I thought the
view from a tomcat as you cut through cloud cover into open air was
impressive."

John stood next to Rabb, both men looking at the majestic starscape
around them.  "You know," began John, "when I first arrived here, I
spent a lot of time on the terrace, admiring the stars, thinking of
home.  But, as time went by, I spent less time here.  I guess because
more and more, Moya became my home.  However..."

"You still dreamt of Earth from time to time," said Harm.

"You read my mind," said John with a smile.  "Normally, I don't like
people who read my mind.  But you are...okay."

"Uh oh," said Harm.  "You've been talkin to Aeryn.  Look, I...didn't
know about you two yesterday, only found this morning, and...I was
just joking around."

John chuckled.  "Harm, its okay," said John.  "Really.  In fact, I can
just imagine how Aeryn handled it.  No big thing."

"Holy..." began a woman's voice from the doorway to the terrace.

Both men turned to see Colonel MacKenzie enter the room.  "This is..."
she began.

"Incredible," said both Harm and John at the same time.

"Yeah," said Mac.  Then, she knowingly looked at Harm.  "Too bad Bud
couldn't have come.  He would have loved this."

"Bud?" asked John.

"Lt. Bud Roberts," said Harm.  "A friend and colleague of ours.  He's
a major trekkie."

"Harm," said Mac, "the Admiral sent me to find you.  He wants to speak
to us."

"Right," said Harm.  "John, we'll see ya later."

"Yeah," said John, "I need to track down that Webb guy.  I heard he
was getting information on interstellar politics from Rygel.  I need
to make sure Webb doesn't think that Hynerians rule the universe."

The group exited the terrace with John going in one direction, and
Harm and Mac going in the other.  "So," began Mac to Harm along the
way, "you two boys get a chance to talk."

"We chatted a bit," said Harm.  "I like the guy.  He must have amazing
perseverance to go through all that he has and still maintain a sense
of humor."

"I still don't get why he won't come home to Earth," said Mac.

"I know exactly why," said Harm.  "Its Aeryn.  He loves her, wants to
be with her, and feels he can't do that on Earth."

"Kind of romantic in a way," said Mac.

"Now, I didn't mean for you to get sappy on me, Mac," said Harm.  "I
mean, are you a Marine or an old softy?"

Mac punched him in the shoulder.  "You call me soft, swabbie?"

Harm grabbed his shoulder where Mac punched him.  "Ouch," he said,
"thanks a lot!  And what's with the swabbie, thing.  You want me to
tell the Admiral about how you think of us Navy personnel as
swabbies?"

"Tattle tale," said Mac.

The playful banter between the two friends came to an end when they
got to the dining hall.  Admiral Chegwidden was waiting for them.

"Come on in," said Chegwidden.  "And close the door."

It took Harm a moment to remember the workings of the door mechanism. 
Once he did, he activated the mechanism and the door to the dining
hall swung shut.  

"Have a seat," said the Admiral.  After they all sat down at the
table, the Admiral began again.  "I wanted to touch base with you two,
now that we've been here for a day.  I brought you two along because I
trust your outlook on things and your counsel."

"Thank you for your trust, sir," said Harm.

"Yes, well, I wanted to get your perceptions on everything we've seen
so far.  On Crichton, on the...aliens, and on the story they told us
last night."

"Well, sir," said Mac, "even though the story sounds like something
out of the Twilight Zone, it does...fit with everything we've seen.  I
don't sense any deliberate...deception on their part.  We spent some
time with D'Argo and Chiana and the other one, with the hair..."

"Jool," said Harm.

"Right," said Chegwidden.  "I have to say I kind of liked D'Argo.
Reminds me of this gruff old Master Chief I knew when I was in SEAL
training.  What about you, Commander?"

"I concur with the Colonel's assessment, sir," said Harm.
"Furthermore, I've had some time to talk with Commander Crichton, and
he strikes me as being a good man."

"He is," said Chegwidden.  "At least, he was, when I knew him.  I've
known that man since he was in diapers, but...he's changed, out here."

"Well, sir," said Mac, "considering all that he has endured out here,
I would think it strange if he was the same."

"True," said Chegwidden.  "I can...understand that."  The Admiral
considered the youth and innocence he lost in Vietnam.  Seeing so
much...death, destruction, can...must change a person.  "But, the
question still remains if John has been changed so much that we can't
trust him."

"I don't perceive anything in John to mistrust, sir," said Harm.  "At
least, that's what my instincts say."

"Very well," said Chegwidden.  "For now, we'll continue to observe
anything.  Talk to the crew as much as possible.  I think I'll have a
talk with Jack, see what he thinks about John."

"Sir," said Harm, "I might...recommend you also talk to Aeryn Sun
about John."

"Oh yeah, right," said Chegwidden.  "Word is they are...."

"Hot bunking, sir," said Mac.

The Admiral looked at Mac.  "I wouldn't have put it like that,
Colonel, but yes.  She knows him now better than anyone.  Good idea,
Commander."

"Thank you, sir," said Harm.

"Dismissed," said Chegwidden.

Both Rabb and MacKenzie rose and came to attention.  "Aye, aye, sir,"
they said simultaneously.

**
Chegwidden walked into the large workout room that Pilot told him he
would find Aeryn in.  He stood in the doorway and watched Aeryn
deliver switch kicks and jabs to various punching bag like devices,
moving like a deadly instrument with her jabs and blows.  The Admiral
watched her skill with admiration for a few moments, before Aeryn
stopped.  She noticed the Admiral standing in the door, and spoke to
him slightly out of breath.

"Was there something I could do for you, Admiral?" asked Aeryn.

"I didn't mean to disturb your workout," said Chegwidden.  "I could
come back."

Aeryn shook her head, as she went over to a bench to get some water.
"Its alright, I'm finished anyway.  What is it?"

"I wanted to talk to you, about John," said Chegwidden.

She looked at the Admiral with a strange expression.  "Shouldn't you
be talking to John yourself, if its about him?"

"I need to talk to someone who is close to him, has been with him on
this ship," said Chegwidden.  "I need to ask you some things."

Aeryn was quite for a moment, before nodding her acquiescence to the
request.

"Aeryn," said Chegwidden.  "I've noticed John is a lot more paranoid,
than he used to be.  Its understandable considering the...hardships he
has suffered through.  But, has his paranoia ever reached a level
beyond reason?"

Aeryn considered a moment before replying.  "I thought he was a few
times," said Aeryn.  "When he said he was seeing images of Scorpius
all over the place.  But, of course, it turned out he really was.
The...neural clone.  Other than that, I've found his instincts to be
mostly accurate."

"I see," said the Admiral.  "So, do you agree with John's assessment
about the Peacekeepers being a future threat to Earth?"

"One of several," said Aeryn.  "The universe is filled with possible
threats.  But...the Peacekeepers and Scarrens know of Humans, through
John.  That makes it possible, perhaps even probable, that they are
looking for Earth.  Though, their main interest in John has been for
his wormhole knowledge, not for his homeworld's or race's value."

"Okay," said the Admiral.  "Well...thanks, for talking to me.  By the
way, you've got some good moves there in your workout."

"Peacekeeper training," said Aeryn.  "Best in the universe."

"Uh, huh," said Chegwidden.  "Well, I wouldn't be too sure about
that."

Aeryn smiled a bit.  "Are you comparing Human military training to
that of the Peacekeepers?  Admiral, with all due respect, you can't be
serious."

"Well, I'd have to admit that my knowledge of Peacekeeper training is
not as extensive as yours," said the Admiral.  "But I'd match a SEAL
or a Marine against a Peacekeeper any day of the week."

"Are you laying down a challenge, Admiral?" asked Aeryn.

"You mean you and I and a sparring match," said the Admiral.  "Why
not?"

"Officer Sun," broke in Pilot on the comms.

Aeryn activated her comm.  "Yes, Pilot."

"Everyone is gathering at command," said Pilot.  "We've detected
another ship entering this system.  Its Talyn."

"Talyn?" asked Aeryn.  "Has Crais made contact?"

"Not yet," said Pilot.  "But Talyn is expected to arrive within a few
microts."

"I'm coming, Pilot," said Aeryn.

"Talyn?" asked the Admiral.  "Isn't that Moya's offspring, commanded
by that ex-Peacekeeper Captain?  Your former C.O.?"

"Yes, his name is Crais," said Aeryn.  "We'd better go to command."

*******************************
Crais finally did communicate with Moya's crew and inform them he
would be aboard shortly.  He also asked for the whole crew to gather
in Moya's command so he could give them some important information.

When Crais stepped into Moya's command, he was startled to see eight
unknown individuals standing in the room with Moya's crew members.
"Who...are these people?" asked Crais incredulously.

"I guess introductions are in order," said John.  "Captain Bialar
Crais, meet our visitors from Earth."  He continued, indicating each
person as he introduced them.  "My Father, Jack Crichton.  My friend,
DK.  Admiral A.J. Chegwidden and Commander Harmon Rabb of the United
States Navy, Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie of the United States
Marine Corps, Clayton Webb of the United States government, Dr.
Cavanaugh, and Professor Carter."

"So, you have made contact with Earth?" asked Crais.  "I figured as
much, knowing you had found Earth in this system."

"How did you know that?" asked D'Argo.

"Moya told Talyn, and he told me," said Crais.

"Wait," said Jack.  "Is this man the Crais you all told me about?"

"The one and only," said John.

"Now that we have all been introduced," said Crais, "I need to inform
you all about something of the greatest urgency.  The Peacekeepers
know where you are."

"What?!" asked several of the people in the room all at once.

"That's not possible," said Aeryn, "they can't have tracked a
Leviathan through starburst."

"Not normally," said Crais.  "However, Talyn and I have recently re-
cracked Peacekeeper communications codes.  They change them
periodically, but I know the system they use.  It still takes a few
weekens to do, but I can crack their codes.  Apparently, in your last
engagement with the Peacekeepers, they fired a probe into Moya which
implanted a tracking device that Scorpius designed.  It is made for
the Peacekeepers to be able to locate a Leviathan after it has exited
starburst, and do it from long distances."

"Captain Crais," said Pilot over the clamshell viewer.  "That is not
possible.  Moya and I would have detected such a device or its
transmissions."

"Scorpius designed it so you would not be able to do so," said Crais. 
"Its undetectable, unless you know what to look for, and it transmits
on an ultra-high band frequency that only a special receiver can
detect.  Scorpius specifically designed this device so that he could
track this ship wherever it goes, even through starburst."

"So you're saying they know where we are at this moment?" asked Webb. 
"That means they know where Earth is, right?"

"Not necessarily," said Crais.  "Talyn and I have located Scorpius'
command carrier.  They are too far away at the moment to detect what
system we are in, or what is in this system.  All they have are
general sector coordinates for Moya at this time.  Its enough to get
them closer to their target.  However, in less than an arn, Scorpius'
carrier will be in range for a specific location on Moya to be fixed."

"That means that in less than an arn," said John, "the Peacekeepers
will find Earth."

"Unless Moya starbursts again," said Aeryn.  "Scorpius will track us,
but will not get the fixed location on this system if we leave before
they get close enough."

"Precisely," said Crais.

"Sounds like you had better get us back to Earth, and..."began Webb.

"We don't have that kind of time," said D'Argo.  "The round trip would
take over an arn.  By then, the Peacekeepers would be in range to
determine specific coordinates for Moya and this system."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" asked Rabb.

John looked at the group.  "Looks like you are going to be guests here
on the Love Boat for longer than planned."

"No, wait a second," began Webb, "you can't just shanghai us here.  I
protest this.  As an official representative of the U.S. government, I
DEMAND to be returned to Earth.  If you think you can..."

"Put a sock in it Webb!" said Admiral Chegwidden with firm authority. 
"You are not in control of this situation, and are in no position to
make demands."

Webb smirked at the Admiral.  "Need I remind you, ADMIRAL, that as a
Special Assistant to the State Department, I am NOT in your chain of
command and you have no authority over me."

Chegwidden walked over and came face to face at close quarters to
Webb.  Then, with a low, take-no-prisoners voice, the Admiral spoke.
"No, Mr. Webb, you are not in my chain of command, but at this moment,
you are in my line of fire!  Now SHUT UP and deal with it.  It sounds
like if we don't go with them, and they try to take us back to Earth
NOW, then those Peacekeepers are going to find our world.  If we can
keep that from happening, I'm all for a little joy ride.  How bout the
rest of you?"

"The Colonel and I are with ya, sir," said Rabb.

"Agreed," said Dr. Cavanaugh.

"I don't see much of a choice," said Professor Carter.

"I say warp out of here A-S-A-P," said DK.

Jack smiled at John.  "We're with ya, son.  Do what you have to do,
we'll be along for the ride."

John smiled.  "Thanks," he said.  "Well, at least we'll get more time
to see each other."  Then, looking at Crais, he continued.  "So,
Crais, do you know how to get this device out of Moya?"

"I know where to start," said Crais.  "And I know we are going to need
some special equipment to do it."

"Good," said John.  "Pilot, tell Moya to starburst out of here as soon
as she is ready.  Crais, tell Talyn to tag along."

"Immediately, Commander," said Pilot.

"Talyn is ready when we are," said Crais.

"Please prepare for immediate starburst," said Pilot.

John turned to the Humans.  "Fasten your seatbelts," he said, "this is
going to be a bumpy ride."

Moya went into starburst a few moments later.  Not long after that,
Talyn too went into starburst.

**
Scorpius was sitting at his desk in his quarters, working at a
computer terminal when Bracca came into the room.  "Sir," began
Bracca.  "Scanners report that the target has apparently gone into
starburst again."

"Hmmm," said Scorpius.  "I see.  Did we ever get a specific location
on where they were?"

"No, sir," said Bracca.  "We didn't get into range for a more specific
locator scan before the Leviathan went into starburst."

"No matter," said Scorpius.  "Get their new location as soon as they
exit starburst."

"Yes, sir," said Bracca.

As the Lieutenant turned to leave the room, Scorpius' voice stopped
him.  "Oh, Lieutenant," said Scorpius.  "That transmission about the
locator device was transmitted as instructed."

"Yes, sir," said Bracca.  "It was transmitted in a code we are sure
Crais could decipher.  But, sir, I still don't understand why you
wanted him to know about it."

"Because, Bracca," said Scorpius, "this plan to capture Moya has two
parts to it.  Having two ways the ship can be captured increases
chances for success.  But having the one means releasing some
information on the other.  Its risky, but if Crichton does fall into
the trap I have set for him with part 2 of the plan, it will save much
time in his own capture.  And time is something I do not want to
waist.  I want Crichton captured as quickly as possible.  Let's just
hope Crichton falls into the trap I have prepared for him."

********************************
Moya exited starburst safely, and her Human visitors survived their
first experience with this form of travel none the worse for wear.
Talyn signaled Moya that he had exited starburst about a day away from
her position, and was in route to rendezvous with her.

As soon as the crew and guests on Moya gathered themselves together,
they set off to work in finding a way to get rid of Scorpius'
transmitter.  Crais took out a data chip and inserted it into a holo
viewer, and presented the crew with some information on the device.
It was a small device, no bigger than a pulse rifle, and was designed
to lock onto Moya's hull with the use of barb-like devices.

Once Pilot knew what to look for, he instituted a detailed scan of
Moya's hull.  After about half an arn, he located it.

"Thar she blows," said Crichton.  "Right there on the bottom, rear
section of the hull."

"The device is not in a sensitive area of Moya's hull," said Pilot.
"She does not even feel its presence."

"What can we do about extracting this device?" asked Jool.

"We should take a look at it first," said Crais.  "See exactly how its
implanted in the hull.  As I said, we may need some special equipment
to get it out."

"Right," said John.  "I'll do an EVA and take a look at it.  Pilot,
have Moya scan the surrounding systems, see if there are any commerce
planets nearby just in case we need that special equipment."

"Very well, Commander," said Pilot.

"John," said Dr. Cavanaugh.  "Is there anything I or Professor Carter
can do?"

"Yeah," said John.  "How good are either of you with detecting signals
at various bandwidths?"

"I can help you with that," said Dr. Cavanaugh.  "I assume you want me
to try and detect the signal that device is sending and work on a way
to jam it."

"You got it," said John.  "Can you do it?"

"Well, I'm not really familiar with these frequencies," said Dr.
Cavanaugh.  "But give me some basics on Peacekeeper communications
technology, and give me a frequency range to scan, and I'll try and
bag your signal."

"I can help you with that," said Crais.

"Good," said John.  "I need someone to come with me on the EVA, just
in case I need an extra pair of hands."

"You've got me," said Aeryn.

John smiled.  "I thought you would be willing to come.  Professor
Carter, could you monitor my scans from the EVA here on command?"

"Show me how the console works, and I can do that," said Carter.

"I can take a quick inventory of our equipment," said D'Argo.  "See
what we have that might help to remove the device."

"I'll help you, D'Argo," said Jool.

"What about the rest of us, son?" asked Jack.

"Just sit tight," said John.  "Let's see what we can find out."

The crew worked diligently at their tasks for the next two and a half
arns.  In the meantime, Jack, DK, and the Admiral watched the crew
work together.  Standing on command, listening to John communicate his
scans to Carter.  

"Sounds like your son has got a pretty good grip on things here," said
Chegwidden.

"I noticed it, too," said Jack.  "In a way, he's found his element
here, his purpose.  You know, I had a conversation with John just
before he left Earth on the Farscape four years ago.  I told him that
we all get a chance to be our own kind of hero."

"Looks like he may have found his chance to be that here," said DK.

Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie approached the two older men.
"Sir," said Mac, "I feel pretty useless here.  I wish there was
something we could do."

"What about Webb?" asked the Admiral.  "Where's he?"

"Sulking in his quarters, sir," said Rabb.

Finally, after the crew members had finished their different tasks,
they all gathered back in Moya's command.  Standing around a
conference table, John began the exchange.

"That device is hooked tight into Moya," said John.  "I don't think
even a cutting torch could get it out, not without hurting Moya.
Those damned barb like things...there's tons of them and they are
everywhere near the device.  Aeryn, what did you say you thought we
could use?"

"A de-atomizing device," said Aeryn.  "It could lock onto the device
and all its component parts and disintegrate it."

"We have nothing like that on board," said D'Argo.

"That means a trip to a commerce planet," said Chiana.

"Depends," said John, looking at Cavanaugh and Crais.  "How ya doing
on the transmission end of things."

"Not good," said Cavanaugh.  "We narrowed down the signal to several
high band frequencies, but can't lock onto the right one."

"He's right," said Crais.  "I am impressed with Dr. Cavanaugh's skills
with communications, but we can't conceivably jam the transmission."

"Looks like we will need to stop at a commerce planet," said Aeryn.
"Pilot, does Moya detect any possible commerce planets nearby?"

"Just one, Officer Sun," said Pilot.  "It is a day's travel from here,
and it appears to be the only one in this sector."

"There is not telling whether or not the planet will have the
equipment we need," said D'Argo.

"But its our best shot," said John.  "So, are we all agreed?"

Everyone around the table nodded.  "Alright, let's do it," said John. 
"Pilot, have Moya take us to that commerce planet.  Crais, you'd
better tell Talyn so he can meet up with us."

**
A day later, Moya was in orbit around the commerce planet, and several
members of Moya's crew were preparing to go down.  John, Aeryn,
D'Argo, Chiana, Crais, and Rygel were all ready to go.  Jool agreed to
stay with their visitors on Moya.

But as the five crewmembers headed into the landing bay to board a
transport pod, several of the Human visitors to Moya came into the
bay.  "John," said Admiral Chegwidden.  "Um, we were wondering several
of us could tag along on your trip to the planet?"

"Admiral, I don't think that's a good idea," said John.

"Come on, John," said Rabb, "you can't just take us out into space and
not give us a real look at the surface of an alien planet."

"Harm," said John, "this is not going to be a Star Trek episode where
Scotty can beam us up if there's trouble.  This is real danger we're
talking about."

"We can handle it, John," said Mac.  "We are trained military
officers."

"So, it's the three of you who want to go down?" asked John of the
three U.S. military officers.

"I'd like to go too, son," said Jack.

"Me too," said DK.

"Dad, DK, look..." began John.

"Please," said Aeryn, "John is right to consider your safety.  He's
only trying to make sure you are not hurt."

"I understand that, Aeryn," said Jack.  "But like my son, I've got
this spirit for adventure that is pushing me to desire to go on this
trip.  Surely, John, you can understand it?"

John was silent for a moment before finally nodding.  "Alright," said
John.  "But each of you will stay near one of us.  We know the dangers
to look for better than any of you do."

"Agreed," said Admiral Chegwidden.

"What about the others?" asked D'Argo.

"Cavanaugh wants to keep cracking at trying to find that transmission
frequency," said DK.  "Carter wants to look over the wormhole data you
gave him.  And Webb...just doesn't want to go."

"Well, let's get this show on the road," said John.

*********************************
Less than an arn later, the group from Moya stepped off of the
transport pod in the commerce planet's main trading port city.  For
John, Aeryn, D'Argo, Crais, Chiana, and Rygel, it was just another
trip to another commerce planet.  But for Jack, DK, Admiral
Chegwidden, Harm, and Mac, it was like stepping into a Star Wars
movie.

The Humans looked around them in awe, staring at the various aliens
who passed them by as the group made their way down the street.  The
buildings even seemed alien in their construction to the Humans.  Most
of them didn't speak at first due to the fact they were all still
trying to take things in.

"Okay," said John, "we have a better chance of finding the equipment
we need if we split up.  Since we also need some food supplies, we
should get some while we're here."

"I'll take care of that part of it," said Rygel.  "Food is after all
my specialty."

"I will accompany him to make sure he doesn't  spend all of our
currency on those disgusting Hynerian nodules," said D'Argo.

"I'll tag along with them," said Chiana.

"Alright, be careful," said Aeryn.

As D'Argo, Rygel, and Chiana made their way in one direction, John
turned to face the remaining members of the group.  "I suggest some of
us go in one direction, some of us in the other to look for the de-
atomizer."

"I'll go this way," said Crais.  "Officer Sun, care to join me?"

"I'll stay with John," said Aeryn.  "But someone should go with
Crais."

"Agreed," said John.  "Safety in numbers."

"I'll accompany the Captain," said Admiral Chegwidden.  Then, he
turned to Mac and Harm.  "Colonel, your with me.  Commander, stay with
John, Aeryn, Jack, and DK."

"Aye, sir," replied Harm.

The two groups split up.  John's group headed towards a highly
industrialized section of the city in hopes of finding someone who
sells industrial equipment.  They walked for about two arns, finding
shops that had heavy equipment, but none with a de-atomizer.

"Looks like we're coming up dry so far," said DK as they exited their
fifth shop.

"Talk about a needle in a haystack," said Harm.

"We haven't heard from Crais, so we must assume he has also not found
a de-atomizer," said Aeryn.

"We've got to keep looking," said John.

As the group continued on, Jack noticed that Harm was a little
distracted, as if he was worried about something.  The older man
approached the Navy Commander and spoke to him.

"Something on your mind, Commander?" asked Jack.

"Ah, no, not really, sir," said Harm.  "I was just...never mind."

"No, no, tell me," said Jack, "what's troubling you?"

"I'm just a little concerned...about the Admiral and Mac," said Harm. 
"I wish we could have stuck together."

"Harm, A.J. Chegwidden is a trained SEAL," said Jack, "and Mac is a
Marine.  I think they can handle themselves.  But, I don't think it's
A.J. your worried as much about as Mac, am I right?"

Harm smiled and chuckled nervously.  "What makes you say that?"

"There's a close bond between the two of you," said Jack.  "I can
tell.  You care for one another, a great deal."

"That's...true," said Harm, "we've been through a lot together.  We've
both seen each other at our best and at our worst, but we've always
stuck by each other.  She's my best friend."

"I see," said Jack with a smile.  "And your saying there's not more to
it."

Harm thought for a moment before replying.  "There is," said Harm,
"but we've mutually decided to put it aside for the time being."

Jack nodded.  "Understood.  I'm sorry if I got too personal.  But I'm
sure their fine."

"I know," said Harm.  "But I'll feel better when we get off this rock
and back to the ship."

"Hey, guys," said John to the group, "I think that a couple of shops
up ahead look promising.  We should split up, some of us take one,
some take the other."

"I'll take the one on the left," said Aeryn.  "Who's with me?"

"I'll go," said DK.

"I'll go with them, too, son," said Jack.  "Keep DK out of trouble."

"Hey," said DK with mock hurt. "I resent that."

"Looks like I'm with you, John," said Harm.

John nodded.  "Cool," he said.  "Let's go."

John and Harm entered the shop on the right hand side of the street.
When they stepped in, no one seemed to be around at first.  They
looked around, John surveying the equipment to see if the shop had
what they needed.  After a few moments, John came across something
that fit Aeryn's description of the device they were looking for.

"Bingo," said John.  "I think this is it.  We can ask the proprietor."

"Just where is the proprietor though," said Harm.  Then, he called
out.  "Hello!  Anyone here."

After a few moments, a purple colored alien came out from a back door
to the shop.  He slowly came up to the two men, but kept looking
behind him as he did.  John and Harm looked at each other, and both
could see that the other felt something was off here.

"What...what can I do...for you?" asked the proprietor.

"Hello," said John.  "I think this is a de-atomizer, isn't that
right?"

"Yes, yes," said the proprietor.  "I can...let you have it at
a...good...fair price."

"Is everything alright?" asked Harm of the alien.

"FINE!" he said with a start.  "Fine! Fine!   Nothing wrong, why?"

John looked around the room, trying to see if there was anyone else
around.  There wasn't that he could see.  But the hairs on the back of
his neck were standing up.  His instincts said there was more here
than meets the eye.

"Look, how much for the de-atomizer?" asked John.  "We're in a hurry."

"Let me check my records for the price," said the alien.  "They are
behind my counter. Only a moment I will take."

The alien moved swiftly to the back of his counter.  He seemed to be
looking through some records, when he made a distinct nodding motion. 
Harm noticed it and spoke quickly to John.

"Hey, something's..."

Before Harm could finish the statement, the back door to the
establishment flew open.  Out of the door came ten heavily armed
Peacekeepers.

"Peacekeepers!" yelled John, drawing his pulse pistol and firing in
one swift motion.

John's shot brought down one of the Peacekeepers, and the others
opened fire.  John and Harm jumped for cover as the shots from the
pulse rifle fire filled the air around them.

"Careful with your fire!" yelled one of the Peacekeepers.  "Scorpius
wants Crichton ALIVE!"

"Aeryn, Aeryn, come in," said John into his comm.  But all he got in
reply was static.  "FRELL!" he yelled.

"Radio on the fritz?" asked Harm.

John nodded.  "We need to get out of here."  He then pulled out
another pulse pistol and handed it to Harm.  "I know we never showed
you how to use this, but just press this button to arm it, point it,
and fire.  But don't hold your finger on the trigger, or the pulse
chamber could overload.  I learned that the hard way."

Harm took the pistol and nodded.  "On three," said Harm.  "One, two,
three!"

Harm rose and fired as John dashed towards the door.  The Peacekeepers
fired in his direction trying to slow him down, but not trying to kill
their prize.  When John got to the door, he found some cover and fired
at the Peacekeepers.  John's fire gave Harm a chance to dash over to
the door and join him.

"GO!" yelled John.

The two men kicked open the door, and came out to the street.  They
were greeted by more pulse rifle fire from different directions.  John
and Harm turned and saw Aeryn firing at a group of Peacekeepers from
across the street.  Jack and DK were huddled behind cover.

"AERYN!" yelled John.  "I tried calling you on the comms, but..."

"I know!" yelled Aeryn.  "I tried, too, but the Peacekeepers must be
jamming the frelling frequencies.  I can't get through to the others. 
Try and get over here, so we can retreat!"

John and Harm tried crossing the street, but heavy pulse fire forced
them back.  Then, the Peacekeepers from the shop John and Harm were in
burst out and began advancing the short distance towards them.

"JOHN!" yelled Aeryn.  "Behind you!"

John and Harm turned and fired on the Peacekeepers, forcing them to
take cover as well.  John looked back at Aeryn, and saw his Dad and DK
still trying to keep down under the haze of fire.

"AERYN!" yelled John.  "You have to get my Dad and DK out of here!
Harm and I will lay down cover fire!"

"NO!" yelled Aeryn.  "I WON'T LEAVE YOU!"

"You've got to!" yelled John.  "Please!  Save my Dad and DK!  Aeryn,
please GO!"

"Aeryn!" yelled Harm in between shots.  "He's right!  Fall back and
get help!"

Aeryn did nothing for several moments, her mind and her heart fighting
each other over what to do.  Finally, she nodded, eyes squeezed
together in fear.  "Alright!  Cover us!  I'll get them back to the
ship, then I'm coming back for you!"

"I hope so!" yelled John.  "I love you!"

"I love you, too!" she yelled.

John turned to Harm.  "Let's make a little noise, kimosabe!"

The two men began firing wildly with their pulse pistols, sending
shots in both directions from which the Peacekeepers were firing.  In
the meantime, Aeryn got to Jack and DK and motioned for them to run
down the street as she covered them.  John could see Jack arguing with
Aeryn, probably refusing to leave his son.  But finally, after taking
an ashen look at his son, Jack was pulled by DK down the street.
Aeryn covered them until all three turned a corner out of sight.

"Their gone!" yelled John to Harm. 

"Great, now how's about we get the HELL out of here!" yelled Harm.

John rose to fire again, but nothing happened.  He checked his pistol
and swore.  "DAMMIT!  Chakron oil cartridge needs to be changed."

"I'll cover you, reload!" yelled Harm.

John went to reload his pistol, when pulse rifle fire reigned down on
them from another direction.  A third group of Peacekeepers showed up
across the street.

"Shit!  This place is worse than O.K. Corral!"  yelled Harm.

"Scorpy must have set this up as a trap!" yelled John.  "Isn't it
great to be loved!"

The enemy fire became heavier and heavier, until finally John and Harm
could no longer raise their pistols and fire.  Finally, the
Peacekeepers from all directions charged their position, keeping up
their fire to keep John and Harm down.  Then, the firing stopped, and
John and Harm looked up to see over twenty pulse rifles being pointed
at them by Peacekeepers.

"Surrender, or die!" said a Peacekeeper Lieutenant.

"You forget," said John, "Scorpy wants me alive, so you can't kill me,
dip shit!"

"He said nothing about this other," said the Lieutenant, pointing his
rifle at Harm.

"Alright," said John, dropping his gun.  "You've got me."

**********************************
The Peacekeepers led Crichton and Rabb blind folded into a room
surrounded by concrete walls.  A Peacekeeper Lieutenant was waiting in
the room as his minions brought the two prisoners in.  When Crichton
and Rabb were positioned in front of the Peacekeeper Lieutenant, he
spoke.

"Blind folds off," he ordered.

One of the seven armed Peacekeepers around the two prisoners removed
the blind folds.  John and Harm took a few moments to regain their
faculties and get a sense of where they were.

"So, you are John Crichton," said the Lieutenant.  "The one Scorpius
has been after all this time.  Hmm, not very interesting."

Then, the Lieutenant stepped closer to Rabb, trying to figure out who
this man in the khaki clothing with multi-colored ribbons and pins
was.  "And just who the frell are you?"

"Harmon Rabb, Jr, Commander, United States Navy, serial number
6896545," said Harm.

"Are you a Human, like Crichton?" asked the Lieutenant.

"Harmon Rabb, Jr, Commander, United States..." began Rabb again,
before being punched in the stomach hard by the Lieutenant.

"So, you have been trained only to give certain information upon
capture," said the Lieutenant.  "Interesting.  But, futile.  We would
get the information out of you eventually, if you had any to offer we
wanted.  That may change, but for now, your not to our interest."

"But I am," said Crichton.

The Lieutenant returned his attention to Crichton.  "Yes, you are of
great interest to Scorpius, whom I am sure will reward me handsomely
for your capture."

"So, where is old cadaver face anyway?" asked Crichton.

"He will be here in a day," said the Lieutenant.  "We would take you
to him in our Marauder, but that frelling Leviathan gunship is in
orbit.  Scorpius doesn't want to risk injury by having us try and slip
you out past the gunship.  So, we will wait.  Once our command carrier
gets here, I suspect your friends on the two Leviathans will have no
choice but to abandon you.  Oh, and don't count on a rescue.  We chose
this place well.  It is easy to guard, well concealed, and I have
enough men here to handle any rescue party that may come.  Your
friends don't even know where to start looking for you, thanks to our
comm interference.  For now, you will be taken to a holding cell we
have prepared for you."

The Lieutenant snapped his fingers and the Peacekeepers put back on
the blindfolds.  They then led the two Human prisoners out of the room
and down a corridor.  Harm and John could hear a metal door open, then
were promptly thrown to the ground.  They took their blindfolds off
long enough to see the door to their cell close, and heard clicking
sound as they were locked in.

"Well, Harm," said John, "you are getting the full Uncharted
Territories tour.  Now, you can go back to Earth and say you got to
see the Peacekeeper version of Club Med."

"Ha," chuckled Harm, "they ought to feature this place on all the
travel brochures.  So, you think Scorpius had this all planned?"

John nodded.  "That slimy bastard probably hoped we would come here to
get the equipment necessary to remove his device from Moya.  It's the
only commerce planet within a monens travel time.  Plus, we just
happened upon the only shop that had the equipment we needed, and..."

"That just happened to be the one the bad guys were at," said Harm.

"Give the man a cigar," said John.

Harm smiled.  "No thanks, I quit several years ago."

John chuckled.  "Good for you, those things will kill ya."

Then, both men laughed, considering the irony of the statement.  Harm
may have saved himself from being killed by tobacco to being killed by
the Peacekeepers.

**
"Aeryn, its not your fault," said Jack.

The rest of Moya's crew and guests returned to Moya from the commerce
planet.  All of them were shaken up by what had happened, and were
sure John and Harm were in Peacekeeper hands.  Aeryn was the most
upset of all of Moya's crew and guests as they all gathered in Moya's
command.

"I should NEVER have left him," said Aeryn.  "And now they have him."

"Aeryn," said Admiral Chegwidden, "John told you to do the right
thing.  From what Jack has told me, you couldn't have gotten to him,
and if you had stayed, you would also have been captured."

"If anyone's to blame, its me," said Jack.  "I hindered your ability
to act because John told you to protect me."

"Alright, look," said Mac with nervous frustration, "this bickering
over blame is getting us nowhere.  We need to be talking about a way
to get them back."

"That may not be possible," said Crais.  "I have had Talyn run a full
scanning sweep of the planet, looking for Peacekeeper power signatures
or communications signals.  He has found none.  I suspect they are in
a concealed location, probably heavily guarded.  They will wait for
Scorpius and his command carrier to arrive."

"And once that carrier gets here," said D'Argo.  "Our hands will be
tied. We will have to leave, or risk capture."

"Look, there has to be some way to find them," said Admiral
Chegwidden.  "We can send reconnaissance parties to the planet, try
and determine their location that way."

Crais shook his head.  "No, Admiral, that will only cause the
Peacekeepers to go deeper into hiding.  It is likely they have scouts
out of their own."

Chegwidden looked pointedly at Crais.  "Captain, you used to be a
Peacekeeper.  You know their tactics and methods.  I want to start
hearing some suggestions, some thoughts about getting them back.  If
anyone here knows a way, its you."

"Admiral, we must face facts," said Crais.  "They are gone.  The
Peacekeepers have them, and we have no way of getting them back."

Admiral Chegwidden was getting angry.  "Captain, I am NOT about to
give up on one of my men or on my friend's son!  I don't care if I
have to rip apart that whole god damned planet, I will get Commander
Rabb and John out of there."

"Admiral, you know nothing about this situation, and I'd suggest..."
began Crais.

His words were cut off when Chegwidden charged Crais and used his arm
to pin the former Peacekeeper to the wall by his neck.  Crais moved to
throw Chegwidden off of him, but the former SEAL deflected Crais'
blows and rammed his knee into Crais' groin to get a second hold on
him.

"Listen up, Crais, because I am only gonna say this once!" said
Chegwidden with quite fury.

"Sir," said Mac.  "Don't."

"A.J., back off," said Jack.

"CRAIS, you had better start being more helpful and giving me more
information on how to get those two men back," said Chegwidden.  Then,
in a loud booming voice, the Admiral continued.  "If you DON'T, I will
take you to the NEAREST ESCAPE HATCH, AND THROW YOUR ASS INTO SPACE!
DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!?"

Crais nodded, and choked out one word.  "Yes."

"YES, WHAT?" asked Chegwidden.

"Yes...sir," said Crais.

Chegwidden released Crais, who proceeded to choke for a few moments.
Then, Chegwidden turned to the others.  "Alright, we need to get
intelligence, but we need to do it in such a way that the enemy will
not detect us."

"Admiral," piped in Webb, who had been quietly watching the scene from
a corner of the room.  "If its covert intelligence you want, then
that's my specialty."

"What does he mean his specialty?" asked Chiana.

"Mr. Webb," began Chegwidden, "is an operative with the United States
Central Intelligence Agency.  His position at the State Department is
a cover."

"You mean he is a disruptor?" asked Aeryn.

Webb chuckled.  "I guess you could call me that," said Webb.  "But I
prefer intelligence operative.  Which, right now, is what you need."

"Webb, this isn't Moscow we're talking about," said Mac.  "This is an
alien planet.  You won't blend in there."

"Colonel, I've blended in places you've never even heard of before,"
said Webb.  "If someone could help me get some proper clothes, I could
pose as a trader.  I assume merchants don't like Peacekeeper presence
on commerce planets."

"They most certainly don't," said Rygel.

"Well, then, I could pose as a Sebacean merchant, ask some questions
to see where the Peacekeepers are, covertly," said Webb.  "Of course,
I could use someone who knows the territory better."

"I'll go," said Aeryn.

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of D'Argo," said Webb.

"You want to blend in and you want to take D'Argo?" asked Jool
incredulously.

"Absolutely," said Webb.  "An Earth writer, Edgar Allen Poe, once said
that 'the best place to hide anything is where everyone can see it'.
D'Argo is so conspicuous in certain ways that most will dismiss his
presence as just an oddity.  He would also make the perfect body guard
as his cover."

Chegwidden looked at D'Argo.  "What do you say?"

D'Argo nodded.  "I'll do it."

"Sounds like a plan, then," said Chegwidden.  "We'll insert you within
the hour."

Webb and D'Argo nodded.  

"I'll help Webb get some proper attire," said Chiana.

"Thanks," said Webb.  He, D'Argo, and Chiana left to go and get ready.

"Now," said Chegwidden, "we need to inventory weapons and supplies,
and the Colonel and myself need to be trained to use these weapons.
Aeryn, that's going to be your job."

"Yes, sir," said Aeryn, a lifetime of soldiering which recognized
Chegwidden's commanding presence in this situation.

Then, Chegwidden turned to Crais.  "As for you, get cracking on
thinking of information we'll need when we bust into the Peacekeepers'
base of operations once we find it."

Crais nodded, scowling at the man who humiliated him a few moments
before.

"Alright then, let's move with a purpose," said Chegwidden.

*******************************
Several arns later, Webb and D'Argo walked into a drinking
establishment on the commerce planet.  They had been on the planet for
a while, as Webb scoped things out, testing out his cover by talking
to people and seeing if they appeared to believe that he was a
merchant.  Thanks to Chiana's choice in clothing, and Webb's skills as
a spy, his cover proved to be a good one.  

Now, he was ready to try and get some information on the Peacekeepers.
They were told that the owner of this establishment, a Tavlek by the
name of Crellis, was very friendly with most merchants to secure their
repeat business.  Webb thought he would be a good person to talk to.

Webb and D'Argo made their way over to the bar.  After they sat down,
Webb whispered to D'Argo.  "Your going to have to point him out," said
Webb.  "I don't know what a Tavloid looks like."

"Tavlek!" corrected D'Argo.  "Argh, you are as bad as Crichton."

The Luxan looked around the room, and saw a tavlek coming towards the
bar.  D'Argo nodded in the direction of the tavlek to tell Webb this
was probably Crellis.  When the tavlek got behind the bar, Webb
motioned for him to come over.

The Tavlek approached with a smile and said.  "Well, we don't get many
Sebaceans in here, especially paired up with a Luxan," said the
tavlek.  "What can I get you?"

"Um, reslac," said Webb in a Sebacean sounding accent.

"Right," said the tavlek.  "And you, Luxan?"

"I am not drinking," said D'Argo in a gruff voice.

The tavlek got Webb his drink.  "Thanks," said Webb.  "By the way, you
Crellis?"

"Yeah," said Crellis.  "I own this establishment."

"I'm Talyn, and this is Lurch," he said, indicating D'Argo.

D'Argo growled slightly.  "He's my protection," said Webb.

"Hmm, protection, what...are you carrying a lot of currency?" asked
Crellis.

"Not really," said Webb.  "But I am a trader, and its pays to have
adequate protection.  There's all kind of scum who would want to rip
off an honest merchant.  Speaking of scum, I hear there are some
Peacekeepers somewhere on this planet."

"You don't like Peacekeepers, eh," said Crellis.  "But you're
Sebacean."

"I'm a businessman," said Webb.  "Peacekeepers can be bad for
business, scare off the clientele.  They're too pushy, always putting
their noses where they don't belong."

"That's true enough," said Crellis.  "The profactos were in here
several nights ago getting reslacs.  Gave my waitresses a hard time.
I'd told them to get their carcasses out of here, but...they are the
ones with the pulse weapons, and they can be very vindictive to those
they don't like."

"My friend Lurch here knows that first hand," said Webb, indicating
D'Argo.  "A group of Peacekeepers tried to beat the grist out of him
because he looked at them the wrong way.  Of course, since there were
less than TEN of them, he wiped the floor with them."

Both Webb and Crellis chuckled.  After the laugh, Webb continued.
"So, where are the frelling Peacekeepers here on planet?  I want to
avoid them as much as possible."

"Oh, they had a big shoot out with some fugitives they were after
earlier today," said Crellis.  "From what I hear, they took some
prisoners."

"Poor bastards," said Crellis.

Crellis nodded.  "I feel for anyone who is in those profactos' hands."

"Well, you know where they are now?" asked Webb.  "I'm going to be
here a few days, and I don't want to get anywhere near them when I do
my business."

"Yeah," said Crellis.  "The merchants were talking about it.  They've
taken over an old underground fortress on the other side of the city. 
It used to belong to some warlord who tried to stake a claim to this
city about fifty cycles back.  Until he was killed, outside of his
fortress.  The current occupants were 'evicted', you might say, by the
Peacekeepers several weekens ago."

"So, if I stay on this side of the city," said Webb, "I should be
okay."

"Yeah, now that they've got what they want," said Crellis.  "At least,
I hope they do, then they'll get the frell out of here."

"Hmm," said Webb.  "Well, thanks for the information.  I'm planning on
doing business on this planet a lot more, so I'll be sure to tell my
friends that your establishment is the place to go for a drink, or
two, or 20 knowing some of my friends."

Crellis and Webb laughed.  "Thanks, Talyn.  Your not bad, for a
Sebacean."

**
Four arns later, Webb and D'Argo returned to Moya.  They got off of
their transport pod, and headed straight for command.  When they got
there, they found everyone waiting for them.

"What did you find out?" asked Aeryn anxiously.

"The Peacekeepers are holding Commanders Rabb and Crichton at an
underground installation on the north side of the city," said Webb.
"D'Argo and I staked out the place for a while.  There is only one
entrance, with what D'Argo said was ident chip access required.  They
also send out regular patrols to guard the perimeter."

"So, the trick is going to be getting close enough to them, and to get
an ident chip to get inside," said Chegwidden.

"I have an idea," said Jack.  He turned to Aeryn and Crais.  "How's
about a few of us impersonate Peacekeepers to get in.  The two of you
are former Peacekeepers, and you could..."

They both shook their heads almost simultaneously.  "It wouldn't
work," said Aeryn.  "Our faces are too recognizable.  And you couldn't
do it either, because they saw you when we fought them."

"Plus, we would need a proper ident chip," said Crais.  "We don't have
one."

"Is there anyway we can jump their patrol, and get their chip?" asked
DK.

"Not without difficulty," said D'Argo.

"Perhaps if we had a distraction," said Mac.  "There might be a way to
do that."

"But then someone would have to impersonate a Peacekeeper to get in,"
said Crais.  "And neither I or Aeryn could do it."

Mac rubbed her chin, and then spoke in a Sebacean accent.  "I suppose
I could do it," said Mac.  "Depending upon how good my Sebacean accent
sounds."  She looked at a flabbergasted Aeryn and Crais.  "Well, how
does it sound?"

"Colonel...Mac," said Aeryn.  "Your accent is...perfect.  And I
thought Crichton did pretty good with it.  How can you do that so
easily?"

"I've always had a knack with languages," said Mac.  "Besides English,
of course, I also speak Russian, Arabic, Farsi, and some Spanish.  So
much of languages is knowing the right intonations and tones to use in
the accent.  In this case, I don't even have to speak in Sebacean.
They'll hear that part.  I just have to do the accent."

DK whistled.  "Damn, and I couldn't even get anything above a C in
High School Spanish."

"Alright, Colonel," said Chegwidden.  "But you'll need at least two
more people to go in with you.  Aeryn, you said that the Peacekeeper
soldiers where dark helmets?"

"Yes, sir," said Aeryn.

"That means if we could get a hold of a couple of their commando
uniforms," said Chegwidden, "you could impersonate one of Mac's
escort."

Aeryn nodded.  "Yes, I could."

"But where are we going to get the uniforms?" asked Chiana.  "I mean,
we can get Mac a Lieutenants' uniform, but we don't have any of the
ones with helmets here on Moya."

Chegwidden smiled.  "We'll take them from the Peacekeepers when we
ambush them outside the base."

"Besides Aeryn, who else will go in with Mac?" asked Webb.  "Crais?"

"No," said Crais, "I will be with Talyn, providing cover to your
escape."

"I'll do it," said Chegwidden.  "I am the best qualified."

"I want to go down with you," said Jack.

"So do I," said DK.

Chegwidden nodded.  "You can stay with the group that will provide
cover once we get outside the base with Harm and John.  D'Argo, would
you mind leading that group?"

D'Argo nodded.  "I will need Chiana and Webb as well."

"Okay," said Chiana.

"What the hell, I've gone this far," said Webb.

"Jool and Rygel will stay with Moya," said Chegwidden.

"Oh, by the way," said Webb, "we've got a little present in the
transport pod.  A de-atomizer to get that device off of Moya's hull."

"How did you find that?" asked Rygel.

"A man named Crellis told us where to get one," said Webb.  "Long
story.  I'll tell ya later."

"Looks like we've got a basic plan to work with," said Chegwidden.
"Now, let's work out details.  Crais, we're going to need your input
on how the Peacekeeper defenses in the base will most likely be laid
out."

****************************************
It was evening on the commerce planet as two Peacekeeper officers
exited from their base of operations and made their patrol near the
base perimeter.  The two men in dark helmets and uniforms, pulse
rifles in hand, surveyed the area, checking for any signs of
suspicious movement near the base.  As they did, one commented to the
other.

"I can't wait to get back to the carrier."

"Me too," said the second, "being on planets filled with alien scum
makes me want to bathe and be deloused."

As they spoke, they noticed movement off to their right.  They turned,
pulse rifles aimed and ready, and confronted the source of the
movement.  The two men's jaws dropped when their eyes beheld a
Sebacean woman looking with short, dark hair, tan skin, and a well
toned figure approach them.  She was wearing a tight, low cut shirt
which accentuated her chest and matching black trousers.

"Hey boys," said Colonel MacKenzie in her best Sebacean accent.  "Want
to have a party?"

"Hello, darling," said one of the men.  "Nice boosters."

Mac smiled and giggled as she got close.  Then, without warning, she
threw a flying kick at one of the Peacekeepers, knocking him to the
ground.  As the other Peacekeeper moved to react to the attack, he was
struck from behind by D'Argo's stinger tongue.  Mac finished off the
first Peacekeeper by stripping off his helmet and knocking him out
with a right cross.

Then, after getting up, Mac looked down at the two men.  "I hate it
when men stare at my boosters," she said.

Aeryn, Chegwidden, Jack, DK, and Chiana joined Mac and D'Argo on the
scene.  "Nice work," said Aeryn, as she began to strip off the two
Peacekeeper's uniforms.

"Thanks for the use of one of your shirts," said Mac.  "Told you the
fact it didn't fit me well would be a plus.  Now, Jack, if you could
give me that Peacekeeper Lieutenant's coat."

"Sure thing," said Jack, tossing the garment to Mac.

The group was able to remove the two Peacekeepers' clothing, inject
them with a drug that will keep them out a long time, and secured them
with Peacekeeper handcuffs.  After hiding the two men, Chegwidden and
Aeryn donned the Peacekeepers' uniforms and helmets.  Luckily, the
uniforms and helmets were big enough and bulky enough to conceal the
fact they didn't fit well on Aeryn and the Admiral.

Aeryn and the Admiral checked their pulse rifles, while Mac holstered
a pulse pistol at her side.  They were all set, and looked the part
very effectively.

"Remember, Mac," said Aeryn through the helmet, "be as smug as
possible.  You are a Peacekeeper and here on authority from Scorpius. 
That makes you in control of the situation.  Act like it."

"I can do that," said Mac in her Sebacean accent once more.

"Alright," said Chegwidden through his helmet, "D'Argo, Chiana, Jack,
and DK.  Take up your positions to provide cover when we come out."

D'Argo nodded, and led the other three off towards covering positions.
Meanwhile, Mac, Aeryn, and the Admiral moved towards the entrance to
the base.  Mac inserted the ident chip she secured from one of the
guards into the door mechanism.  A green light on the control panel
came on, and the door swung open.  The three of them then stepped into
the interior.

They marched down a corridor until they were met by two guards.  They
pointed their weapons at Mac because they did not recognize her.  Mac
eyed them calmly and with an air of authority.

"I will speak to your commanding officer, NOW," said Mac in her
Sebacean accent and with full confidence.

The Peacekeeper guards nodded, and escorted the disguised Mac, Aeryn,
and Chegwidden down the corridor to a metal door.  The guards knocked,
and heard an irritated male voice yell for them to enter.

The group stepped into the room where they found a man putting on his
pants, while a naked woman lay in a nearby bed covering herself with
the sheets.  The man, as he put on a shirt, looked at the group with
anger.

"What the FRELL is going on?" asked the man.  "Can't you see I'm a
little busy here."

"Sorry to interrupt your little recreational section," said Mac.  "Are
you in charge here, or is this officer in your bed in charge?"

"I am" said the man.  "Lieutenant Gitan.  And you would be?"

"Lieutenant Allory," said Mac.  "I've been sent by Scorpius to secure
the prisoner John Crichton and return him to the carrier forthwith."

"I don't understand," said Gitan.  "I was told the carrier would not
arrive for another solar day."

"It won't," said Mac.  "I was sent ahead to fetch the prisoner.
Scorpius is anxious to get his hands on him and doesn't want to be
kept waiting any longer."

"How did you get here past the Leviathan gunship in orbit?" asked
Gitan.

"Marauder on a stealth trajectory," said Mac with her well coached
reply.  "Now, cease this questioning and bring me the prisoner."

"There are two prisoners," said Gitan.  "What about the other?"

"Bring him as well," said Mac.

Gitan looked at Mac with a strange expression.  "Wait," said Gitan.
"How did you know the other prisoner was a male?  I did not report
that to Scorpius.  My orders were not to break communications silence,
we were working on a prearranged time table.  And he DID NOT mention
you, Lieutenant."

Mac did not reply right away.  Gitan realized something was wrong.
"Guards!  Imposters!" he yelled.

Mac struck Gitan with a flying kick to his face, while Aeryn and
Chegwidden turned on the other two guards.  In the hand to hand battle
that followed, Mac, Aeryn, and Chegwidden were able to defeat their
opponents.  Even the naked female officer who was in the bed jumped on
Aeryn, only to be sent to the floor by the former Peacekeeper with a
swift pentac jab.

After the Peacekeepers in the room had been subdued, Aeryn and
Chegwidden remove their helmets.  Surveying the scene, Chegwidden
commented.  "Hoorah!" he said.

Aeryn bent over and picked up a still conscious Gitan.  "Where is
Crichton?" she asked.  "Tell me, or I will make you feel more pain
than you could possibly imagine!"

Gitan did not reply, and Aeryn smacked him across the face.  "Answer
me!" she yelled.  Then, Aeryn unholstered her pulse pistol.  "Open
your mouth!" she yelled.  Gitan complied, and Aeryn put the barrel of
her pistol in his mouth.  "Tell me where Crichton is, or I will
splatter your brains all over the FRELLING wall behind you!"

**
John Crichton and Commander Rabb sat on the floor of their cell as
they had for the past day.  They had slept off and on, talked a bit
about different things, but were now strangely silent.  Finally, Rabb
spoke to Harm.

"So," said Harm.  "This is your life.  Being chased by space nazis,
dodging laser gun fire, and hopping from one planet to another as a
fugitive.  You know, I wouldn't understand why you would want to stay
with this life, if it weren't for the way I see you look at Aeryn."

John smiled in response.  Harm continued.  "Is she worth it?"

"She's worth far more to me than anything," said John.  "Aeryn makes
anything worth it.  She's special."

Just then, they heard their cell door open.  The two men rose to face
whatever was coming into the door.  What they did not expect was to
see Mac, Aeryn, and Chegwidden come into the door in Peacekeeper
uniforms.

"Aeryn!" said John with excitement.

Aeryn flung herself at John, and the two embraced one another and
showered each other with kisses.  "Thank goodness," she said, "your
alright?"

"I'm fine baby," said John.

Meanwhile, Mac hugged Harm warmly.  "Hey, sailor, can we give you a
lift out of this joint?" she said.

Harm laughed.  "Hell yes," he said.

Then, Chegwidden caught Harm's hand in a firm handshake.  "How is it
you are ALWAYS getting into trouble, Commander?" asked the Admiral.

"Its nothing I do, Admiral, I assure you," said Harm.

"Hmm," said Aeryn, still in John's arms.  "Where have I heard that
before?"

"Hey, I resent that remark," said John with faint heart.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," said Chegwidden.  "Let's save the
love fest for later.  We aint out of this yet.  Time to go."

*********************
John, Aeryn, Harm, Mac, and Admiral Chegwidden made their way back
through the corridors towards the entrance to the base.  All of them
had pulse rifles or pulse pistols at the ready for any trouble that
might find them.  Unfortunately, trouble did.  Two Peacekeepers
rounded the corner and spotted them.

"Intruders!" yelled one of the Peacekeepers, as they two of them
opened fire.

The group from Moya took cover and returned fire.  One of Aeryn's
shots brought down one of the two Peacekeepers.  The other one took
cover, and was joined a moment later by eight more Peacekeepers who
opened fire on the escaping prisoners and their rescue party.

Pulse rifle and pistol fire flew across the corridor, as the group
from Moya tried to blast their way through the Peacekeepers between
them and escape.  Chegwidden rose and fired his pulse rifle, taking
down two of the Peacekeepers with well placed fire.

"We've got to get outside!" yelled Chegwidden.  "We'll have back up
from D'Argo's team out there!"

"Implement plan B, sir?" asked Aeryn.

"Affirmative!" yelled the Admiral.

"Plan B?" asked John.  "I can't wait to see this!"

Aeryn, Mac, and the Admiral all pulled out small devices from their
coats.  John looked at them, then at Aeryn.  "Baby," said John, "are
those..."

Aeryn nodded.  "Cover your ears!" she yelled.  "On three.  One, two,
THREE!"

Aeryn, Mac, and the Admiral all tossed their devices at the
Peacekeepers.  Several moments later, loud bangs rang out from the
corridor near where the Peacekeepers were.  The trio had thrown stun
grenades at the Peacekeepers which set off loud bangs that made the
Peacekeepers temporarily deaf.

Momentary confusion resulted among the group of Peacekeepers, which
was taken advantage of by the group from Moya.  They ran into the
group firing their weapons, taking out several Peacekeepers before
they could recover.  But by the time the Peacekeepers did recover,
John, Aeryn, Mac, Harm, and Chegwidden were on top of them.  The group
from Moya finished off the Peacekeepers in hand to hand combat.  When
that was done, the group moved to continue towards the exit, when they
heard someone yell for them to stop.

"Halt!" yelled a voice from behind.

The escaping group turned to see Lieutenant Gitan facing them with a
pistol in hand.  "Frell," said Aeryn, "how did he get loose?"

"On the ground, NOW!" yelled Gitan.

John, Aeryn, Mac, Harm, and Chegwidden looked at each other.
Simultaneously, they said, "No way!", before firing at Gitan.

The Peacekeeper Lieutenant took cover, but fired at the escaping group
as they did.  One of the Peacekeeper's shots struck Aeryn in the leg. 
She fell to the ground and let out a small scream of pain.

"AERYN!" yelled John, joining his lover on the ground, holding her
hand.  "Are you alright?"

Mac bent down as well, and examined the wound.  "It doesn't look bad,"
said Mac, "but I'm not as familiar with pulse weapon wounds, so I
can't be sure."

"John," said Chegwidden.  "Help Aeryn up and out of here.  Commander,
Colonel, cover them.  I'll take care of Gitan."

"We won't leave you, sir," said Harm.

"That's an order, Rabb," said Chegwidden.  "Don't worry, I don't
intend to die here.  I'll be out shortly.  Now go!  NOW!"

"Aye, aye, sir," replied Harm.

As the rest of the group took off at their best speed down the
corridor, Chegwidden fired on Gitan.  The Peacekeeper Lieutenant
returned fire.  After several minutes, Chegwidden's pulse rifle
refused to fire.  

"Dammit!" said Chegwidden.  "Don't tell me this damned thing has
jammed!"

"Having a little problem!" yelled Gitan.  He rose, and moved towards
Chegwidden.  The Admiral looked up and saw him approach.  His pistol
useless, Chegwidden opted for a knife that was attached to the belt of
a fallen Peacekeeper laying next to his position.

Gitan saw the Admiral pull the knife.  "Well, well," said Gitan.
"Facing my pistol with a knife.  I'll say this, you've got mivonks!"

"Oh yeah," said Chegwidden, rising from his position, knife in hand.
"How's about we see how big yours are?  Why don't you drop that
pistol, pull a knife, and take me that way?  Or are you too scared?"

Gitan dropped his pistol, and pulled a knife from his belt.  "I'm
going to enjoy this," said Gitan.  "By the way, just who the frell are
you?  I'd like to know before I kill you."

"Admiral A.J. Chegwidden, United States Navy," he replied.

The two men then came at each other with their knives.  Each man
thrust and parried against the other, striking and blocking with their
knives, trying to break the other down or find a weakness in their
defenses.  After several moments, Gitan spoke.

"I'll say this," said Gitan.  "You are good."

"Best training in the world," said Chegwidden.

They continued to strike at each other.  Finally, Gitan moved to sweep
Chegwidden's legs out from under him.  The experienced former SEAL
avoided the move, and saw an opportunity left open by Gitan's attack. 
He thrust his knife towards Gitan's side, ramming the blade into the
Peacekeeper.  

Gitan looked at the Admiral with surprise.  Chegwidden looked at the
Lieutenant with a glum face.  "Should have told you," said the
Admiral.  "Don't mess with a SEAL."

The Admiral withdrew his blade, and Gitan fell to the ground dead.
Chegwidden sighed, then turned and ran towards the entrance, picking
up Gitan's discarded pulse pistol along the way.

**
Meanwhile, John, Aeryn, Harm, and Mac got outside of the compound.
D'Argo came running out of the shadows.  "John!" he yelled.  "Is Aeryn
alright?"

"She will be, if we can get her back to Moya," said John.

Jack, DK, and Chiana came running out of the darkness as well.  "Son,
are you alright?" asked Jack.

John looked at his father, shocked to see him running with a pulse
rifle in his hand.  This worried him on some level, but John quickly
shirked away the thought.  "I'm fine," said John.

"We've got other problems," said DK.

"Crais signaled from Talyn," said D'Argo.  "Apparently, Scorpius sent
ahead forces to secure you and return you to the carrier.  Twenty
marauders with Prowler escort entered orbit, and Talyn was not able to
stop them and protect Moya.  Several have landed, and more
Peacekeepers are on the way."

"Where's A.J.?" asked Jack.

"I'm here!" yelled Chegwidden, running out of the door to the base.
"What's going on?"

"More bad guys are coming, sir," said John.

"Well, let's get the hell out here, and hope Webb came through for us
again," said Chegwidden.

"Webb?" asked Harm.  "What do you mean?"

"No time," said the Admiral.  "Let's move, and eyes open for ambush."

*******************************
The group from Moya made their way back to the transport pod with
their weapons at the ready.  They had to land the pod on the other
side of the city to reduce the chances of the Peacekeepers detecting
its arrival.

Mac was in the lead, with Chegwidden not far behind.  John was next in
line, with Aeryn leaning on him for support due to her wounded leg.
Jack, DK, Chiana, and Harm followed, with D'Argo bringing up the rear.


The other Peacekeepers from the Marauders and Prowlers spotted in
orbit by Crais had undoubtedly landed and were attempting to ascertain
their location.  Chegwidden was hoping that Webb would come through
for them.

As the group rounded a corner, Mac raised her hand as a signal to take
cover.  The group did so, and Chegwidden crawled forward to see what
Colonel MacKenzie had spotted.  John joined them as well.

"Report," said the Admiral.

"Sir, up ahead," said Mac, indicating with a gesture where she wanted
him and John to look.

What was ahead was what looked like a squad of Peacekeepers next to
two parked Prowlers and a Marauder.  "Their between us and the
transport," said Chegwidden.

"Any other way around?" asked John.

The Admiral shook his head.  "This is the most direct route, any other
would take more time, and thus increase our chances of running into
other Peacekeepers.  Besides, Webb is expecting us to come by this
route.  We have to take it.  Suggestions."

"Sir," said Mac, "You and I are still in Peacekeeper uniform.  We can
distract them by walking up with a prisoner."

"Good idea, Colonel," said the Admiral.  Then, he turned to Crichton. 
"Care to be a prisoner, Commander?"

John smirked.  "Well, I've gotten a lot of practice at it.  Why not?"

The Admiral told the others what they were doing, and ordered them to
stand by.  Then, Mac, Chegwidden, and Crichton got up and went towards
the Peacekeepers.  Chegwidden held his pulse rifle on John, while Mac
led them to the group of Peacekeepers.

When they were spotted, a Peacekeeper Lieutenant challenged them.
"Identify yourselves," said the Peacekeeper.

"Lieutenant Allory," said Mac in her imitated Sebacean accent.  "My
man here and I have captured John Crichton after his apparent escape
from our base here on the planet."

The Peacekeeper Lieutenant smiled at her.  "That was fast," he said.
"We were ordered to stand by here to take Crichton to the carrier once
he was re-captured.  I'll inform Lt. Bracca, and then we can load him
up."

It was at that moment that Mac struck.  She sent the Lieutenant to the
dirt unconscious with a swift kick to the face.  Stunned, the other
Peacekeepers were slow to react as Chegwidden began shooting them.
Crichton then drew a concealed pistol and began firing as well.

The two Prowler pilots started firing at them from their ships, but
they were soon silenced by fire from the rest of the group from Moya
who now joined the fight.  The Peacekeeper detail guarding the ships
was soon silenced entirely.

"Well, score another one for the good guys," said Harm, as he walked
over with Aeryn leaning against him.

John immediately took charge of supporting his lover, as he spoke
about something the Peacekeeper said.  "Scorpius sent Bracca to come
and fetch me," said John.  "Figures."

"Who's Bracca?" asked Harm.

"Scorpius' second in command," said Aeryn.

"Well, let's not wait around to meet him and his buddies," said the
Admiral.  "I'd say take the Marauder, but Webb wouldn't know about
that, and he's waiting for us at the transport pod."

"Sir, just what has he been doing?" asked Harm.

"He's preparing a little surprise for the bad guys," said Chegwidden. 
"Now, let's move.  The transport is a few blocks away."

The group continued forward, staying on guard for ambush.  When they
got within a block of the transport, Chegwidden pulled out something
from his coat.

"Peacekeepers were still jamming comm traffic when we cooked up this
plan," said Chegwidden.  "So, we have to signal Webb the old fashioned
way."

The Admiral fired off something like a flare that went up into the sky
and exploded in a bright red flash.  "Of course," offered D'Argo, "we
just let every Peacekeeper within a metra know where we are."

"Right, so let's move," said the Admiral.

The surged forward in the last bit of distance to the transport.  But
once they got within sight of the pod, they began to come under pulse
rifle fire.  The group turned and saw at least 30 Peacekeepers bearing
down on their position, who opened fire as soon as they saw the group
from Moya.  

Among the group of Peacekeepers, Crichton recognized Bracca, shouting
to his men to be sure not to hit Crichton with their fire.  "Damn, I
wish I had a good shot at him from here," said John, raising his
pistol and firing at the general direction of the Peacekeepers.

"Never mind that now," said Jack. "We just have to wait for Webb."

"What's one guy gonna do against them?" asked John.

"Who said it was just one guy, old buddy?" asked DK.

As if on cue, the group was surprised by the sound of shouting coming
from all around them.  The Peacekeepers looked up to try and determine
the source of the shouting, momentarily slowing down their fire.
Then, without warning, two of the Peacekeepers fell after being hit by
fire from pulse weapons.

A rain of weapons fire poured down on the Peacekeepers from all
around, as unseen shooters started taking out the Peacekeepers one by
one.  Under heavy fire, and unable to determine where exactly it was
coming from, Bracca ordered his men to fall back and regroup.

While the Peacekeepers retreated, the group from Moya stood up and
headed for the transport.  As they did, Harm shouted, "What the hell
just happened?"

"Good to see you too, Harm," said a familiar voice from the shadows.

Clayton Webb stepped out of the shadows and into the clear, pulse
pistol in hand.  He was accompanied by a Tavlek whom D'Argo
immediately recognized as Crellis, the bar owner he and Webb had
spoken to earlier that day.

"Webb," said Chegwidden.  "Looks like your mission was successful."

"Sure was," said Chiana.  "Those Peacekeepers bolted like Jack's
rabbits."

"Um, Pip," said John, "that's jackrabbits."

"That's what I said," said Chiana with consternation.  Then, she
looked at Jack Crichton.  "Just what does that mean, anyway?  Do you
rabbits run away a lot?"

"Uh..."began Jack.

"Never mind that!" said John.  "Just what did you do, Mr. Webb?"

"I convinced Crellis and a few of his friends to help us out," said
Webb.

"It was no problem," said Crellis.  "Your friend explained to us who
he really was, and what they were doing. We don't like having all
these Peacekeepers around, so we decided to lend a hand.  Peacekeepers
are bad for business, and helping to get rid of them sounded like
fun."

"That's not all our friends are doing," said Webb.  "Right about now,
the Peacekeepers in this city are starting to trip booby traps and
various explosive devices, designed to slow them down and keep them
busy.  We can thank Aeryn and Crais for providing most of the
weapons."

"Wait a microt," said John, "what happens when Scorpius hears about
this?  He may come back here and get vengeance for what you all did."

"What who all did?" asked Webb.  "The enemy never saw any of the
people that were firing on them, so who are they going to retaliate
against.  Unless they nuke the whole planet."

"Which, annoying as the Peacekeepers are, they are not likely to do
that," said Crellis.  "This commerce planet is a major source of trade
in this quadrant.  Many races trade here, ones that would not be happy
with Peacekeepers if they destroyed this source of commerce.  And
right now, the Peacekeepers need to be on friendly terms with some of
the races we trade with, to show force against the Scarrens.  You see,
I keep up with interstellar politics.  I also know about the great
John Crichton and his band of freedom fighters, how you..."

"I know, I know," said John, "rob from the rich to give to the poor.
I've heard it.  Well, thanks for the assistance."

"We're not out of trouble yet," said Webb.  "I managed to get a clear
signal from Crais.  He says that the sky above us is swarming with
Prowlers.  Only reason an air strike hasn't been called in is probably
because they don't want to risk killing Scorpius' prey here."  He said
the last part indicating Crichton.

John smiled.  "Ah, its so great being loved, aint it?"

"Right now, son," said Jack, "its keeping you alive."

"So is Crais going to provide us with cover in the air?" asked D'Argo.

"Once we get into orbit, yes," said Webb.  "Right now, he's struggling
to keep the bad guys away from Moya."

"Oh, frell that," said Chiana.

"Yeah," said DK.  "Those bad asses are going to be on our buts until
we get into orbit.  They'll probably shoot us down before we can get
there."

John had the look of developing an idea.  "Unless we secure an
equalizer," said John.  "I could go back and get one of those Prowlers
we saw parked with those now dead Peacekeepers, and provide cover."

"No, son," said Jack.  "Its too dangerous."

"Someone should fly with you, John," said Aeryn.  "And I can't, not in
this condition."

"I will," said D'Argo.  

"No, big guy," said John.  "I need you to fly the transport, and the
kind of fancy flying you would need to do would require two hands at
the controls.  That's Chiana's job.  And no one else can fly a
Prowler."

"I can," said Harm.

"What?" asked several people in unison.

"Aeryn gave me a few pointers," said Harm.  "That, and my own flight
experience ought to be enough."

"No, Harm," said John, "its too risky."

"I'm not letting you go alone," said Harm.

"I'm not sure if I'm letting EITHER of you go," said Chegwidden.

"You've got to, sir," said Harm.  "Its our only chance of getting out
of this."  Then, looking at John, he continued.  "John, never
underestimate a naval aviator.  I can do it."

John smiled.  "Alright, its your funeral."

Chegwidden nodded.  "Permission granted.  But get back alive, or I'm
comin to the afterlife to kick your asses."

Crichton and Rabb came to attention in unison.  Then, with salutes,
they said, "Aye, aye, sir."

"Son, Harm" said Jack.  "Be carefull."

"Yeah," added DK.  "Watch yourselves in the wild blue yonder there."

"That's from the Air Force song, DK," said Harm with mock
consternation, as the group of four men exchanged handshakes.

Mac walked over to Harm, and kissed him on the cheek.  "For luck," she
said quickly, before turning on her heel and walking towards the
transport.

John walked over to Aeryn and took her face in his hands.  Without a
word, the two of them passionately kissed.  After a few moments, they
broke the kiss and leaned their foreheads together.  Finally, the two
lovers broke the embrace and John walked over to Harm.

"You ready kimosabe?" asked John.

"Let's roll," said Harm.

*******************************
John and Harm got to the two Prowlers.  Luckily, no Peacekeepers were
around guarding the ships.  "Webb's buddies must be keeping the bad
guys busy," said John.

"Well, let's get airborne before they come back," said Harm.

John activated his comm.  "D'Argo, you there," said John.

No response.

"Anybody on the transport, come in," said John.

Still no response.

"Damn!" he said.  "The Peacekeepers must still be jamming the comms."

Harm climbed into the cockpit and was making ready to close the
canopy.  John, who was in the process of climbing into the other
Prowler, spoke to him.  "Hey, Harm.  You sure you know how to fly that
Prowler?"

"I can handle her," said Harm.  "Now, my space flight abilities may
not be up to par.  But while we're still in the atmosphere, I've got a
few moves I can show those Peacekeepers.  They've never faced a tomcat
pilot before."

"Yeah, but these birds aint no tomcats," said John.

"Aeryn showed me enough," said Harm.  "I'm hoping my flight experience
will do the rest."

John nodded.  "Just don't get yourself killed," he said.  "Mac
wouldn't be to happy with me."

"What does that mean?" asked Harm.

John smiled.  Without saying a word, he closed the Prowler's canopy.
Harm did the same in his.  Crichton powered up the Prowler and was
preparing to lift off.  He looked at Harm's Prowler, but it still had
not powered up.  

John was about to check up on Harm when the other Prowler also powered
up.  Crichton lifted off, followed in short order by Harm.  Both
Prowlers streaked into the air.

"WOOHOO!" yelled Harm in his cockpit.  "Man, can this baby move!  I've
got to get one of these!"

John and Harm kept their Prowlers in close proximity.  They spotted
the transport pod heading up into the air, and moved into position to
cover them.  

Crichton saw four Prowlers streaking towards the transport pod.  He
got on the Prowlers comm unit.  "JC calling Harm, come in," said John,
trying not to spook any Peacekeepers who might be listening.

"I hear you," said Harm.

"Four bandits 9 o'clock low," said John.  "You got them."

"Roger that," said Harm.  "Let's get some."

Crichton's and Harm's Prowlers turned hard left and banked down on the
enemy Prowlers.  John was the first to fire, but his shots barely
missed their target.  The Peacekeepers, now aware of the threat, moved
to counter John and Harm's attack.

Two of the enemy Prowlers engaged John's fighter.  Crichton turned
hard right, and dived towards the ground.  Meanwhile, Harm banked his
fighter high and left and took off into a layer of cloud cover.  

Harm brought his fighter around, and dived out of the cloud.  He did a
complete 180 degree turn and ended up at the side of the cloud in
which he entered.  Harm waited, and his patience paid off when the two
Prowlers who were after him came out of the cloud at the same point
Harm did.

"Surprise!" said Harm, as he fired on the two Prowlers. 

 He managed to clip one's wing, and it went spiraling down towards the
ground.  The other Prowler turned and attacked Harm's ship, but the
Navy pilot managed to avoid the shots and took off at high speed with
the enemy fighter in pursuit.

Meanwhile, John was leading the other two bandits in a high speed
chase through the skyline of the city below.  He managed to loose them
at one point, but the Peacekeepers soon reacquired his position.

That was when John decided to try something he had seen in a movie
once.  He throttled down on his fighter's speed suddenly, bringing his
ship to a sudden drop in speed.  The other two Prowlers streaked by,
not reacting fast enough to John's move.  John accelerated again, and
opened fire on his former pursuers.

One of the Prowlers disappeared in a fireball.  "Well, guess he didn't
see that movie," said John.

Harm was still being pursued by the second Prowler he had engaged.  He
decided to try another trick.  He dived hard towards the surface of
the planet, pushing his throttle up to full speed.  The ground got
closer and closer very fast.  The Peacekeeper ship followed.

"Okay," said Harm, "let's hope the hell this works."

He pulled up hard, and did a reverse loop towards his pursuer.  The
Peacekeeper ship tried pulling away, but was too late in its reaction.
Harm opened fire and blew his target out of the sky.

"Speed kills!" said Harm.

Harm pulled up and headed into orbit to locate the transport pod.  He
found the pod, and six more Prowlers pursuing it.  "Damn, this isn't
getting easier."

Rabb pulled in behind the fighters and started firing.  His shots
destroyed one of the fighters, but two of others turned at high speed
and fired on Harm.

"WHOA!" yelled Harm, as he pulled up and barely avoided the shots.

He wiped his brow.  "Damned, forgot.  This is space.  No air
resistance in banking turns."

Harm watched as the Prowlers got closer to the transport.  He tried to
get in closer again, but those same two Prowlers fired on him and kept
him away.  

Rabb thought the transport was done for, until a huge burst of weapons
fire annihilated the pursuing Prowlers.  Harm looked up and saw the
looming shape of Talyn coming towards him and the transport from high
and left.

"This is Captain Crais," said a voice over the comms.  "Who is
piloting that Prowler?"

"Commander Rabb, sir," said Harm.  "John is coming in another
Prowler."

"Your way is clear to Moya," said Crais.  "Talyn has chased away the
Peacekeepers for the moment.  I will search for Crichton's Prowler."

Harm followed the transport pod into Moya's landing bay.  He wasn't
sure how to slow down and land, but luckily he didn't have to.  Moya
activated her docking web and brought the Prowler down to a safe
landing.

Rabb jumped out of his Prowler and met up with the others, who had
gotten out of the transport pod.  Aeryn, who was leaning on Jack,
looked at Harm with concern.

"Where's John?" she asked.

"We got separated," said Harm.  "Crais and Talyn went to look for
him."

Then, over their comms, they heard a voice.  "Moya, this is Crichton. 
I'm coming in hard.  Clear the bay for landing!"

Everyone got out of the landing bay just in time to see a beat up
Prowler being brought in by Moya's docking web.  The ship was lowered
to the deck, and it collapsed with a thud as soon as the docking web
released it.

John Crichton victoriously climbed out of cockpit of the wrecked ship.
Everyone was staring at him as they did.  Crichton smiled at them.

"Hey, you should see the other guy," he said.

Everyone started laughing with joy.  "We did it!" yelled Chiana.  "We
FRELLING did it!"

"Pilot, is Talyn with us?" asked D'Argo.

"He is alongside us," said Pilot.  "But we must leave NOW!"

"Right, starburst," said John.

"Prepare for starburst!" yelled Pilot.

Both Leviathans went into starburst, leaving any pursuing Peacekeepers
far behind.

****************************
Two weeks later, Moya arrived back in Earth's solar system with all of
her crewmembers and Human guests safe and sound.  After their initial
starburst away from the commerce planet, Moya's crew set out to work
in removing the Peacekeeper tracking device embedded in Moya's hull.
Webb (with Crellis' help) had been able to secure a de-atomizer, which
the rest of the crew put to work in removing the tracking device.  In
this task, Dr. Cavanaugh, Professor Carter, and DK were able to aid
Moya's crew in coordinating the device's removal and disposal.

In the meantime, Jool was able to repair the damage to Aeryn's leg
that she received in the battle with the Peacekeepers.  John was at
her side much of the time for the recovery, as was Jack.  The latter
found he had begun to regard Aeryn as a Father would for a daughter,
and shared his son's concern for her well being.  Aeryn's feelings for
Jack had become mutual.

Of course, there was plenty of discussion and celebration of the
victory over the Peacekeepers.  At a celebratory dinner they had the
night after they removed the tracking device from Moya's hull, D'Argo
asked half-seriously asked Admiral Chegwidden for his assessment of
the Peacekeepers' fighting ability.

The Admiral replied with a grin.  "They're all tech and no brass," he
said.  "Soldier for soldier, they'd get their asses wupped by the Boy
Scouts, much less the U.S. Military."

Aeryn looked at him with mock consternation.  "You know, we still
haven't had that sparring match we discussed."

"We can't now, Officer Sun," said Chegwidden.  "You're injured."

"Doesn't matter, I could still kick your ass," said Aeryn.

All of the Humans at the table let out a simultaneous "OOOHHH!"

Chegwidden smiled.  "You know, I'd bet you could."

"Though," said Aeryn, "I would have a hard time out flying Commander
Rabb.  I have to say, swabbie, you can fly a Prowler very
effectively."

Harm looked at her with a grin.  "Who told you sailors were called
'swabbies'?"

Mac raised her hand.  "See your local Marine for that one."

The festiveness of the occasion was a testament to the fact of the
newfound friendship between Moya's crew and the visitors from Earth.
Of course, that fact was tinged by the knowledge that the friends
would soon have to part.

The night before Moya arrived in Earth space, John found his Father
standing on the terrace.  The younger Crichton had just spent the past
arn tossing back a couple of reslacs with DK before the latter went to
bed.  John had a feeling he might find his Father on the terrace when
he didn't find the older Crichton in his quarters.

"I see you've become enchanted by the view from the terrace, too,"
said John.

"I can see how anybody would," said Jack.  "Hell, I saw the stars from
the surface of the moon.  Of course, I was in a damned space suit at
the time, looking at the stars through a face shield.  Here...I can be
surrounded by stars, and not have to worry about my oxygen supply."

"You know, Dad...its something to consider.  I mean...you could
stay..."

"No, son, I can't," said Jack.  "I've thought about it, ever since I
saw your face on that view screen in the Pentagon.  But...space is
only a place I visit.  Its not where I live.  Its not my home.
But...I can see how its become yours.  Now that you know where Earth
is, can you come back and visit?  Bring Aeryn...and maybe the kids."

"Kids, what..." began John.  He saw the big grin on his Dad's face,
and began to laugh.  "Um, Aeryn and I haven't actually...talked too
much about that yet.  But, if we do have any children, I definitely
want them to know their grandfather.  Because he is the most amazing
man I have ever known."

The two men embraced each other in a bear hug.  During their hug, they
heard someone make a noise to announce her presence.

"Am I interrupting?" asked Aeryn, standing in the doorway.

"No, baby," said John.  "Come on and join the family."

**
Moya contacted Earth once they got back.  Sufficed to say, the
President and his staff were not at all pleased about Moya taking off
unexpectedly with a top CIA operative, several scientists and military
officers, and a famous astronaut.  However, upon hearing the
explanation as to why this happened, straight from both Clayton Webb
and Admiral Chegwidden, the President was quick to agree with the
necessity of the decision.  His agreement with this decision would
later be firmed by reading Clayton Webb's and Admiral Chegwidden's
report on Peacekeeper military capabilities.

A transport pod delivered the Human visitors back to Arizona where
they had first picked them up almost a month before.  For Jack, DK,
Chegwidden, Harm, Mac, Webb, Dr. Cavanaugh, and Professor Carter, it
had been the most incredible month of their life.  Now, it was time
for goodbyes.

John started with Cavanaugh and Carter.  "I hope my notes and data
recordings help you with future research."

"Dr. Crichton," said Carter, "I think you've given us both enough
material for a lifetime's worth of research."

"And for that, and the incredible adventure," added Cavanaugh,
"thanks."

Next came Mr. Webb.  "Webb, I didn't know what to think of you when
you first came aboard Moya.  But...there was no way we could have done
what we did without you."

"Just doing what I do best," said Webb.  "Besides, I am now the only
field operative on Earth with OFFWORLD experience.  I'd say my resume
just went up by several leaps and bounds.  Of course, only a few top
officials in Washington will ever know about that.  But, that's
actually business as usual for my line of work."

John then said goodbye to the team from JAG.  "Mac," he said, "I never
knew Marines could kick but and be so sexy at doing it."

Mac laughed.  "Don't let Aeryn here you say that, or she'll be kicking
YOUR but for sure."

Next came Harm.  The two men shook hands warmly.  "Hey, if I ever need
a wingman, I know who to come lookin for," said Harm.  "That is, if I
can catch a ride in a starship to get there."

"It was a hell of a ride, kimosabe," said John.  "Maybe we can share
another cell together sometime."

Harm laughed.  "Maybe we can SKIP that part next time."

Admiral Chegwidden then walked up to Harm, and shook his hand firmly. 
"John, you take care of yourself, and that very special lady who's
with you.  Tell her I'm sorry we never got to that sparring match."

"I will sir," said John.  "Thanks, for everything."

The final goodbyes came between John and his Father, along with DK.
It was mainly a wordless goodbye, most of it being said the night
before.  The few words that were spoken were enough.

"John, I'll see you on the flip side," said DK.

"You bet," said John.

"John," said Jack, "I just want to tell you how...proud I am of you.  
You've become your own kind of hero after all."

John smiled.  "And you were right, it was the last thing I ever
expected.  Have fun listening to those tapes I gave you."

The two men hugged one last time.  "I will," said Jack.  "And give my
love to Aeryn once again.  I'm gonna miss both of you."

John turned and headed for the transport pod.  As he climbed up the
ladder, he turned to the group.  "Oh, by the way, Aeryn and D'Argo
left you a little present a few miles that away.  We're thinking it
can come in useful.  If anything, it's a memento.  Just...use it
wisely."

Crichton then turned and entered the pod.  The hatch door closed
behind him, and the pod lifted off the ground and shot up towards
space.  About ten minutes later, several humvees pulled up and picked
up the party left there by the transport.

"Sir," said one of the men to Admiral Chegwidden, "you'll all have to
report for full debriefing and decontamination procedures."

Chegwidden nodded.  "We will, but we need to check something out
first."

The humvees drove through the desert for several miles in the
direction that John indicated before leaving.  Finally, the vehicles
found what they were looking for.

Harm was the first to jump out of a humvee and run up to what they had
found.  Parked in the desert was a Prowler, and the Navy pilot
recognized it immediately.

"It's the one I flew over the commerce planet," said Harm.

"How can you be sure?" asked DK.

Harm turned and smiled.  "Because I'm a Naval aviator.  I'd know my
plane anywhere."

The End